Public Integrity Project Moves for Preliminary Injunction to Disclose Epstein Files
May 28, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Journalist and attorney Katie Phang today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in Phang v. Blanche, No. 26-1417 (D.D.C.), asking U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to order Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to stop his most blatant violations of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the government to disclose substantially all files related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and their associates. The bill was passed 427–1 in the House of Representatives and by unanimous consent in the Senate.
This new motion is the next step in the lawsuit Phang filed April 27th challenging the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein Files. While the complaint broadly challenged the Department's noncompliance with the Act, a preliminary injunction seeks specific relief now on the administration's most blatant and undeniable violations of the law.
"The Department of Justice continues to violate the law as it obstructs the public's right to see what Congress overwhelmingly voted to release," said Katie Phang. "The survivors and the public have the right to know about the names hidden behind these redactions. As an independent journalist who has been extensively reporting on Jeffrey Epstein and the investigation around him and his associates, I am asking the court to enforce a law that passed with nearly unanimous bipartisan support, because the Attorney General has refused to follow it on his own."
The motion identifies five specific violations and asks the court to order Blanche to correct them:
Unredact names in eight emails. The Department redacted the names of senders and recipients in shocking emails that are clearly between potential perpetrators of sex crimes. The Act prohibits redactions made to protect individuals from embarrassment or reputational harm, yet these identities have been redacted.
Unredact co-conspirator names in two DOJ documents. The Department improperly redacted an unfiled draft indictment and an internal DOJ briefing email, each of which lists potential co-conspirators by name. All names except Ghislaine Maxwell's were redacted. The Act contains no exemption for unindicted co-conspirators, and identifying them was a central purpose of the legislation.
Produce withheld FBI interview notes related to Donald Trump. The Department illegally withheld documents from an FBI investigation into allegations about Donald Trump. DOJ's own records confirm these documents still exist and were previously provided to Maxwell's defense team, but they have never been produced to the public.
Begin reviewing and producing foreign-language documents. The Department has declined to review any foreign-language materials, calling it "not practicable." The Act contains no such exemption, and Epstein's operation was international in scope. DOJ routinely handles foreign-language document review in immigration, counterterrorism, and other matters.
Publish the required redaction log. The Act requires a written justification for every redaction, published in the Federal Register simultaneously with each document production. Months after productions concluded, no such log has been published.
The full motion is available here.