A federal judge overseeing Katie Phang's lawsuit against the Trump Justice Department is making one thing abundantly clear: he's not willing to simply accept the government's explanations about its Epstein files redactions at face value.
In a new order issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan directed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to submit unredacted versions of key Jeffrey Epstein-related emails and documents directly to the court for a private in camera review, along with evidence backing up the Justice Department's claims that its sweeping redactions are legitimate.
Rather than relying on DOJ's assertions, Sullivan is requiring the government to prove them.
The order requires Blanche to submit eight unredacted email chains, identified by specific Bates numbers, as well as documentation supporting the department's claim that the names blacked out in those emails are, in fact, victims whose identities are protected by law.
Sullivan also ordered the Justice Department to produce an unredacted version of another document and provide evidence supporting its claim that the names removed from its "to" and "from" lines belong to law enforcement personnel. A third document must likewise be submitted in unredacted form with documentation supporting DOJ's assertion that the names it concealed are victims.
The deadline for the production is 3:00 p.m. ET on July 30.
The judge is sending a clear message that if the Trump administration wants to keep information hidden from the public, it will have to do more than simplysayits redactions are justified.
The order stems from the lawsuit filed by MeidasTouch's Katie Phang, who has challenged the Trump administration's compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the bipartisan law Congress passed last year requiring the release of the vast majority of the government's Jeffrey Epstein records.
The latest order follows an earlier opinion Sullivan issued, in which he concluded the Justice Department had effectively conceded it was violating the law by failing to meaningfully respond to Phang's arguments.
"The Attorney General does not respond substantively to any of these arguments," Sullivan wrote. "The Attorney General has conceded that he is in violation of the Act."
That ruling rejected DOJ's argument that the lawsuit should be dismissed and found the Administrative Procedure Act allows Phang's challenge to move forward. Sullivan also issued preliminary relief requiring the department to either disclose additional information or provide stronger legal justifications for withholding it.
The records at issue include FBI interview notes involving allegations connected to Epstein, communications regarding a so-called "torture video" and alleged sexual activity involving minors, draft indictment materials identifying alleged co-conspirators, and other records the department has heavily redacted. Many of the allegations contained in the files remain unverified, and the Justice Department has argued that significant portions must remain sealed to protect victims and other legally protected information.
But Sullivan's latest order suggests the court is no longer content to simply rely on those representations.
Citing recent D.C. Circuit precedent recognizing a court's inherent authority to review sensitive materials privately, Sullivan ordered the unredacted records brought directly into his chambers so the court, not the Justice Department, can determine whether the government's explanations are accurate.
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