Judge Emmet G. Sullivan has set a Thursday 1 p.m. EDT hearing in Katie Phang’s lawsuit over Epstein files the Justice Department withheld or redacted. Phang is asking the court to force the government to release documents on Jeffrey Epstein, while the Justice Department must explain why it kept parts of the record secret.
The hearing places Attorney General Todd Blanche in court on the record about the department’s handling of the files. Sullivan also ordered the government to provide documentation showing that redactions protect victims’ identities and to lay out a timeline for a log of all redactions in the Epstein files.
Judge Emmet G. Sullivan
Sullivan privately reviewed the full documents before ordering the hearing. He said Blanche has not properly explained why the Justice Department will not uncover some redactions or release notes involving allegations against Donald Trump.
That dispute is now centered on what the department can justify line by line. The judge also ordered the government to explain why it cannot redact handwritten notes from an FBI interview with a witness making allegations against Trump.
Katie Phang lawsuit
Phang’s lawsuit asks the court to force release of Epstein-related material the Justice Department has withheld. It also asks the court to fine Blanche $1,000 per day for each day the government does not turn over the files she requested.
The filing seeks names from eight emails dated from 2009 to 2018. The disputed material includes a 2013 email that said, “New Brazilian just arrived, sexy and cute, 19yo,” a 2014 email that said, “Thank you for a fun night… Your littlest girl was a little naughty,” and a 2015 email that said, “The key are the 14 to 15 year old girls—i am a sexual pervert because i say they are now of a reproductive age?”
DOJ redactions
The Justice Department says the redactions protect victims’ identities and private email addresses. It has also argued that an email in which Epstein said, “I loved the torture video,” should not be unredacted because the recipient was already reported in the media to be Emerati billionaire Sultan Ahmed b.
Another September 2018 email said, “My favorite from Lithuania, [REDACTED], 19. Will meet when I am there.” The hearing will test whether the government’s explanation satisfies Sullivan’s demand for documentation, or whether more of the Epstein record comes out in public form.
