Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces a proposed $1,000-a-day fine for refusing to comply with a federal judge’s order to release more Epstein files.
The motion, filed Monday by independent journalist Katie Phang’s legal team in Washington, asks U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to hold Blanche in contempt — meaning the court would punish him for defying its order.
The filing lands two days before Blanche is set to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing as attorney general.
Sullivan ruled in June, as Politico reported, that Blanche had “conceded” he was violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a 2025 law Trump signed requiring the full public release of Justice Department files on convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Sullivan had ordered Blanche to unredact emails, release FBI interview notes, and publish a log explaining every redaction — and Blanche refused.
“The Attorney General refuses to review foreign-language documents,” the filing states. “He refuses to produce an explanation for his redactions. And he refuses to produce documents he concedes contain no victim information.”
According to the filing, when Sullivan ordered Blanche to begin reviewing foreign-language Epstein documents that the Justice Department had never reviewed at all, Blanche claimed he didn’t have to—arguing that because he had told Congress it was “impracticable” and Congress hadn’t complained, he was off the hook.
“This isn’t how the law — any law — works,” Phang’s attorneys fired back.
Phang’s filing argues Blanche told the court he had already satisfied the requirement for a redaction log — a public, document-by-document explanation for every blacked-out name or piece of information.
The court document also argues that Blanche had only sent Congress a vague summary, rather than what Congress required.
Phang’s claim notes that Blanche refused to release documents he concedes contain no victim information — including emails about a so-called “torture video.”
“The Acting Attorney General has not conceded anything,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told CBS News. “Judge Sullivan’s perverse interpretation appears to be focused on driving misleading headlines.”
Monday’s filing accuses Blanche of “brazenness” that “fits a pattern of dishonesty, delay, and obfuscation” and asks the court to fine him $1,000 a day until he fully complies.
Blanche’s Senate confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin Wednesday.
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