Trump’s DOJ Says, ‘Trust Us’ on the Epstein Files. A Judge Said: Prove It.

A federal judge is about to see something the rest of the world hasn't: some of the DOJ’s unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files.

On July 25, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered the Justice Department to hand over 10 disputed records, in full, with no black boxes, for his private review. 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose confirmation to the permanent role has been complicated in no small part by Epstein survivors who have refused to be silent about the botched and incomplete release of the Epstein files earlier this year, has until July 30 at 3 p.m. to comply with the court’s order.

This is the first time a judge has reviewed the DOJ’s release of the files. And it isn't happening by accident. As many survivors of sexual assault know, when it comes to the legal system, almost nothing happens without a fight. This fight was brought by Katie Phang.

Phang, an attorney and former MSNBC anchor, has become one of the most tenacious independent journalists covering the Epstein files.In April, Phang and her attorneys Brendan Ballou and Sam Ward-Packard at the Public Integrity Project filed Phang v. Blanche in federal district court in Washington, D.C. The complaint alleged that Blanche had committed a "brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation" of the Epstein Files Transparency Act: improperly redacting documents, failing to explain those redactions as the law required and redacting and retracting documents referencing Donald Trump that should have been produced in full.

It asked the court, among other things, to compel full production and strip out every redaction that couldn't be legally justified.

Phang's filing forced Blanche to respond in court, with evidence, to the pointed allegation that the Department of Justice is protecting the wrong people. And that allegation is about to be put to a big test. 

The post Trump’s DOJ Says, ‘Trust Us’ on the Epstein Files. A Judge Said: Prove It. appeared first on Ms. Magazine.