Fox News apologises for cutting Donald Trump from photo of Jeffrey Epstein

American news channel Fox has apologised for "mistakenly" cropping Donald Trump out of a photo where he posed with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maxwell was apprehended by the FBI at a luxury hideout in New Hampshire on Thursday on charges of helping to lure underage girls for Epstein.

Her arrest is the latest twist in the case after Epstein, a high-flying investor, died in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial.

The original photo and the cropped photo which appeared on Fox News.
The original photo and the cropped photo which appeared on Fox News. Photo credit: Twitter Aaron Rupar/Scott Crocker

On Sunday Fox News spoke to lawyer Jordan Merson, who represents some of Epstein's accusers, on the arrest.

However, while showing related images, Fox used a photo cropped not to show the US President.

"On Sunday July 5, a report on Ghislaine 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," CNN reported a spokesperson said. "We regret the error."

The two businessmen used to be friends, but after Epstein's arrest in 2019 Trump told reporters: "I had a falling out with him a long time ago. 

"I don't think I have spoken with him for 15 years. I was not a fan. A long time ago. I'd say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his," he said, the Washington Post reported.

But social media users have criticised the network, which has been accused of having a Republican-leaning bias, for "selective editing".

"Ok, Faux News accidentally cropped out their illustrious leader in a photo that included Epstein and Maxwell. Yeah of where is the real "Fake News" coming from," one commenter said.

"Oh yea, mistakenly cropped Trump out of the picture with Epstein. How convenient," another wrote.