The Department of Justice is refusing to hand over redacted information from investigative files connected to Jeffrey Epstein
-- despite an order from a federal judge to either release the documents or explain why they were withheld.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with journalist Katie Phang after she filed a lawsuit accusing Donald Trump’s administration of violating the "Epstein Files Transparency Act", which the president signed into law last year.
The lawsuit, which was filed against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, accuses the government of obstructing the public’s right to access materials connected to investigations into Epstein.
The judge gave the Justice Department until Thursday to respond.
Hours before the deadline to turn over the materials, Associate U.S. Attorney General Stanley Woodward asked the judge to delay the deadline for another two months,
or to dissolve the order entirely by accepting the Justice Department’s explanation for withholding those documents.
Woodward wrote that the government is “committed to transparency and compliance”
but “strongly disagrees” with the judge’s order.
The Justice Department initially said it intends to appeal Sullivan’s order, which a spokesperson at the time called “perverse.”
“Judge Sullivan's perverse interpretation appears to be focused on driving misleading headlines,”
the spokesperson said last month.
“This judge is suggesting DOJ violate the law by un-redacting victim names,
who as the Department has always explained, sadly became co-conspirators.
DOJ has produced all responsive documents and will appeal this decision with confidence.”
Sullivan’s order, however, did not order the release of survivors’ names,
only to justify certain redactions,
produce any additional records supporting them
and publish the redaction log as required by law.