Judge Orders DOJ to Produce More Unredacted Epstein Files - or Explain Why it Won't

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump in November 2020, aimed to promote transparency and accountability in the government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. The act mandated the release of certain documents related to the case, including FBI notes and interview transcripts. In April 2020, Katie Phang, an attorney and former MS NOW anchor, sued the Justice Department for failing to abide by the act. Phang argued that the DOJ's failures to release certain information publicly made it impossible for her to do her job as an independent journalist.

A federal judge has ordered acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to produce more unredacted files related to Jeffrey Epstein or demonstrate by next week why the Justice Department was justified in withholding or redacting the files at issue. In an order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan found that Blanche has conceded that he is in violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act and therefore must take steps to comply with the act or 'show cause' as to why the DOJ cannot do so by July 2. Specifically, Sullivan ordered that Blanche must remove redactions from a number of files that the Justice Department previously released, including notes from FBI interviews with a woman who accused President Donald Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager after Epstein allegedly introduced them.

Blanche must also remove redactions from documents discussing alleged co-conspirators and from emails with Epstein in which the senders' and recipients' identities are obscured. Additionally, he must initiate the translation of Epstein-related documents in foreign languages and catalog the redactions made in the Epstein files. If Blanche does not fulfill the requirements above, he must explain to the court why he cannot do so. The court order came in response to Phang's lawsuit, which was filed in April.

In an interview with progressive media company MeidasTouch on Thursday, Phang emphasized that Sullivan's court order requires Blanche to produce the documents to the public and not just to her. 'And this is why I brought this lawsuit in the beginning. We needed this transparency as the American public, and we had to force the DOJ to have to do this,' she said. The Justice Department's patchy release of the files and the sloppy redactions that have concealed identities of potential co-conspirators and male associates while exposing survivors' identifying details have been subject to intense criticism from the public.

In February, MS NOW confirmed that the Justice Department had withheld dozens of pages of FBI notes and memos from interviews with the woman who accused Trump of sexually abusing her when she was a young teenager after Epstein introduced them. At the time, the DOJ said that no documents had been deleted but that some files were 'temporarily pulled for victim redactions or to redact Personally Identifiable Information' and would subsequently be made public. The department released three missing interview memos in early March, though the notes and other documents have still not been made public.

Trump has long denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. He has said that he and the late financier had a falling out in the 2000s. In a statement to MS NOW, a DOJ spokesperson denied that Blanche conceded to violating the law, as Sullivan wrote in his order, and said the department will appeal the decision. 'Judge Sullivan's perverse interpretation appears to be focused on driving misleading headlines. This judge is suggesting DOJ violate the law by un-redacting victim names, who as the Department has always explained, sadly became co-conspirators,' the spokesperson said.

Blanche, who served as deputy attorney general under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi during the DOJ's review and release of the Epstein files, has long been the face of the department's response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act. In January, when the DOJ released the vast majority of Epstein-related documents, Blanche - not Bondi - made that announcement. Blanche has largely defended the DOJ's handling of the Epstein files, though he recently admitted during congressional testimony that the department erred by publishing some victims' identifying information. He has also acknowledged withholding millions of pages of documents that he has described as privileged or irrelevant.

The implications of the court order are significant, with some experts arguing that it could set a precedent for future government transparency and accountability. 'This decision is a major victory for transparency and accountability in the government's handling of the Epstein case,' said Phang. 'It shows that the court is willing to hold the Justice Department accountable for its actions and that the public has a right to know what is going on.' Others have criticized the order, arguing that it could put victims' identities at risk.

The future outlook for the case is uncertain, with the DOJ expected to appeal the decision. In the meantime, the public is left to wonder what other secrets may be hidden in the unredacted files. As Phang said, 'The American public needs to know the truth about what happened in this case, and we need to know it now.'

Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.

Lisa Rubin is MS NOW's senior legal reporter and a former litigator.