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Right-leaning responses to the limited release of files related to the Epstein case have been sharply divided, with some supporters of the previous administration pointing out the noticeable appearance of former President Clinton and other Democratic figures in images, while different voices lamented how extensive redactions portray Donald Trump and GOP members in a unfavorable manner.

Justice Department Justifies Censorship with Strong Rhetoric

Justice Department representatives defended the redactions with fervent hyperbole. “Never in American history has a Commander-in-Chief or the Department of Justice been so open with the public about such a sensitive law enforcement issue,” declared a senior Justice official Todd Blanche, who issued a six-page memo describing the redaction procedure.

Questions Prompted by Redactions

While Trump's identity and image appear in some of the materials, the widespread redactions prompt significant concerns about what may be concealed beneath them. A number of conservative lawmakers swiftly called for increased openness.

“The public are furious and walking away,” posted Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Via a social media post, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie asserted the censorship violate the law, and suggested that a subsequent Congress may attempt to remove the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, for that violation. “Regrettably, this file dump egregiously does not comply with both the spirit and the wording of the law,” he added.

A Faction of Rightwing Commentators Rally Behind the Release

However, a segment of rightwing pundits and former President allies came out strongly behind the Justice Department's actions.

The release—originating from a justice department run by key Trump ally Pam Bondi—includes scores of documents that are entirely redacted, and numerous of the individuals shown in pictures have their identities obscured.

Yet a few do not, including prominent individuals like Bill Clinton, entertainer Michael Jackson, and scholar Noam Chomsky. The inclusion of Clinton, in particular, enabled some rightwing voices to go on the offensive.

“It’s quite ironic how the Democrats falsely claimed Donald Trump of associating with a pedophile, only for the Trump DOJ to unveil Epstein files that show Bill Clinton swimming nude with a convicted sex offender,” stated right-wing activist Laura Loomer.

“Recently released documents show Bill Clinton without a shirt in a hot tub with a female that is other than his spouse Hillary Clinton,” wrote attorney Rogan O’Handley. “There’s only 1 reason Epstein would take pictures of a Commander-in-Chief with a girl in a hot tub: Blackmail.”

Former President Campaign Releases Response

Clinton has consistently said he knew of no criminal activity by Epstein and has never been alleged to have engaged in any wrongdoing. “The administration has not been concealing those documents for months only to release them late on a weekend to protect Bill Clinton,” Clinton’s spokesperson Angel Ureña said in a statement.

“The release is about shielding themselves from future revelations, or from information they’ll try and conceal forever. Therefore they can release as many grainy decades-old photographs as they desire, but it isn’t about Bill Clinton. Not previously, never will be,” the statement concluded.

Overall Conservative Commentary Seems Subdued

Nonetheless, broader comment on the right was comparatively subdued after the release, especially when compared with the vociferous calls for action that preceded the legislative vote to pass a law mandating the documents' publication.

Loomer, who recently accepted press credentials at the Defense Department, had been one of the most vocal proponents for a complete disclosure. Earlier this year, she criticized the Justice Department generally and Bondi specifically after a set of rightwing personalities were provided physical folders of materials that included little previously unseen information.