Trump defends 'big boy' Bill Clinton after appearance in Epstein Files

Former US President Clinton featured in the Epstein documents that were released by the Department of Justice last week.

The DoJ was legally obligated to make all files related to the investigation into the disgraced paedophile financier public following the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

In his first engagement in front of the media since the release, President Trump was asked about Clinton's appearance in several photos.

"I think it's terrible," Mr Trump said, adding: "I like Bill Clinton... and I hate to see photos come out of him."

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He continued: "I've always gotten along with Bill Clinton. I've been nice to him, he's been nice to me. I hate to see photos come out of him, but this is what the Democrats, mostly Democrats and a couple of bad Republicans, are asking for.

"So they are giving photos of me to. Everybody was friendly with this guy [Epstein], either friendly or not friendly.

"He was all over Palm Beach and other places... and Bill Clinton was a friend of his, but everybody was."

He added: "Bill Clinton's a big boy. He can handle it, but you probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago."

Clinton features in a number of photos within the released documents, including one where he is in a hot tub and another where he appears to be swimming with Ghislaine Maxwell.

One image shows a portrait of Bill Clinton wearing Monica Lewinsky's infamous blue dress by Petrina Ryan-Kleid.

The existence of the portrait is known and it was reportedly hung in Epstein's home.

Clinton has previously said he wishes he never met Epstein.

Epstein was found dead in his cell at a federal jail in Manhattan, New York, in August 2019 while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.

Being pictured or named in these documents does not imply they are responsible for any wrongdoing or illegal activity.

President Trump also featured in some of the images released by the DoJ.

While Trump has previously been pictured with Epstein on a number of occasions over the years, he has denied ever visiting Epstein’s private Caribbean island.

Jennifer Freeman, a lawyer representing a number of the victims, slammed the Trump administration for the way it has released the files with such heavy redactions

“It's not just the victims, it's also the victims' families because it affects not just that person, but everyone they deal with their loved ones, the people that they come in contact with, their ability to function in society,” she said.

“So it affected thousands of lives.”

Marina Lacerda, a Brazilian-born survivor of Epstein’s abuse, described the release as "a slap in our faces".

"We were all excited yesterday before the files came out," she said.

"And when they did come out, we were just in shock, and we see that there is nothing there that is transparent. So it's very sad, it's very disappointing."