The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) redacted the face of the Mona Lisa, a 522-year-old painting of a Florentine noblewoman, in a document released as part of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Document Details

In a PDF of an email from July 3, 2009, titled "simply paris", an anonymous sender sent Epstein several photos of himself and a woman in Paris. The woman's faces were redacted with a black rectangle, while the man's face is visible. The photos depict tourist locations such as Disneyland Paris, the Versailles fountains, and the Louvre, where the Mona Lisa is exhibited.

Contrast with other omissions

The DOJ redacted the Mona Lisa, identified by art historians as Lisa Gherardini, but did not redact names, faces, and nude photos of many of Epstein's victims. As reported by 404 Media, sexually explicit images of women and girls were present in the released material, which remained online until the publication reported the links.

Reactions and consequences

Victims' attorney Brad Edwards told ABC News that information was released that led to the identification of people who had never come forward. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from 404 Media.