Epstein Files
FOIA will get you nowhere
Last February I began filing a series of FOIA requests for copies of Epstein files that I knew for a fact had not been released on DOJ’s Epstein website. In response to most requests I received duplicates of the exact same letter claiming, in part, that all files required to be released were available on DOJ’s Epstein website. When I provided documentation proving that I was requesting files that had not been released, that documentation was ignored.
Through the news I learned about Katie Phang’s lawsuit under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) seeking to fully enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA). Since copies of documents filed in that case are freely available online, I began following the blow-by-blow as documents were filed. Here is the link to the court docket. If you open this link then you can download copies of individual documents.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73246595/phang-v-blanche
When Katie filed a motion for preliminary injunction Todd Blanche responded in part by arguing instead of filing an APA lawsuit Katie should have filed a FOIA request. Docket 12, search for ‘FOIA’.
As part of their reply to Blanche’s FOIA argument, Katie’s attorneys filed two copies of the duplicate letters I have received responding to my own FOIA requests. Docket 14 - Two files.
The judge then ordered Blanche to file a response to docket 14. See the “Minute order” in the docket. Blanche ignored that court order. No response was ever filed. Blanche’s assertion that FOIA is the way to obtain copies of unreleased Epstein files is so exceptionally weak that when *ordered* by the judge to support that assertion, Blanche had nothing to say.
Katie’s lawsuit to fully enforce the EFTA is continuing to move forward. By October 1 Blanche must “file a certified list of the contents of the Administrative Record” and by October 15 Blanche must “produce the Administrative Record to the Plaintiff”.
Will the administrative record admit that the redactions we see were made in March 2025 prior to the EFTA even being introduced? Will the administrative record reveal the criteria used to decide which FD-302 victim interviews to release and which to not release? Stay tuned…
#Epstein #EpsteinFiles #ReleaseTheEpsteinFiles