Fox News apologizes for ‘mistakenly’ cropping Trump out of photo with Epstein, Maxwell

Fox News apologized Monday for what it said was a mistake in cropping President Trump out of a photo with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping Epstein recruit girls he then sexually abused.

The photo, which was shown Sunday evening on Fox News, showed Epstein, Maxwell and Melania Trump but not the president. The photo was taken in 2000, before Melania Trump was married to President Trump. 

Fox News edits Trump out of photo with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago https://t.co/Fx87397x1y pic.twitter.com/SEst77byQY

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) July 6, 2020

A Fox News spokesperson said in a statement that the report on Maxwell “during Fox News Channel’s ‘America’s News HQ’ mistakenly eliminated President Donald Trump from a photo alongside then-Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell.”

“We regret the error,” the spokesperson added. 

Epstein killed himself in a prison cell last year as he faced charges of sex trafficking.  

Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and longtime associate, was arrested Thursday in New Hampshire for her alleged participation in Epstein’s sex trafficking circle. She was transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after spending the weekend in a New Hampshire jail.

She faces four counts related to procuring and transporting minors for illegal sex acts and two counts of perjury for allegedly lying about her involvement.

Epstein, a New York financier, had a number of political, media and other social connections before his downfall, including President Trump and former President Clinton.