Public Integrity Project Sues Acting Attorney General For Failing to Produce Epstein Files
The Public Integrity Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of journalist and attorney Katie Phang against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, alleging the Justice Department has failed to release records required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
This case tests whether the federal government can ignore a transparency law passed by Congress without consequence. The law requires the Department to produce all covered records related to Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and associated individuals, subject only to narrow, clearly defined exceptions, within 30 days of enactment.
The lawsuit alleges the administration failed to comply in multiple ways. It missed the statutory deadline. It failed to provide required explanations for redactions. It disclosed sensitive victim information while withholding other material. And it withheld or removed documents, including records referencing President Donald Trump.
“The Trump Administration is deliberately violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act, withholding records Congress ordered it to release, and making it harder for the public to understand the full truth about Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the powerful people in their orbit,” said Katie Phang. “As a journalist, it’s my job to find the truth and hold powerful people accountable when they break the law. Survivors, and the wider American public, deserve answers, and the law requires the government to provide them.”
Given the administration's blatant failure to follow the law, Phang seeks, among other things, the appointment of a special master to oversee the government's compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Phang is represented by the Public Integrity Project, a law firm dedicated to raising the legal and reputation cost of corruption.
Brendan Ballou, CEO of the Public Integrity Project, said, "This is a case about ending the idea that some people are beyond the reach of the law,” said Brendan Ballou, CEO of the Public Integrity Project. “The Acting Attorney General appears to believe that the powerful must be protected, and that he himself does not need to follow the law. He is wrong on both counts."
Katie Phang is an attorney and independent journalist. After serving as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, Florida, she worked as a legal analyst for CBS, Fox, NBC, and MSNBC. She currently reports on legal news through her online YouTube news channel, Katie Phang News, on Substack, and on a variety of other media outlets. For years, she has covered the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and the work of survivors to get a measure of justice.
The case was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia. You can read the complaint here.