‘Appalling’: Ex-prosecutor says Blanche’s DOJ is ‘literally obstructing’ a criminal probe

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a former Manhattan prosecutor and legal analyst, was left appalled Friday after the Justice Department filed a motion in federal court that she described as “literally obstructing” a state-led probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s potential accomplices.

In July, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez publicly accused the DOJ of withholding evidence related to Epstein’s activities at his New Mexico property, formerly known as Zorro Ranch, a sprawling complex that was reportedly central to his disturbing plan to “seed the human race with his DNA by impregnating women.” In August, New Mexico sued the DOJ over its continued stonewalling.

Rather than satisfy New Mexico’s request and hand over the relevant files, the DOJ filed a motion last week in court to request more time to respond to the lawsuit.

“They have said we are not investigating additional crimes, but here is a state and local DA’s office who wants to investigate crimes that happened in their jurisdiction, and they are asking for the files that pertain to their investigation — meaning, it wouldn’t be released to the public, this is to a law enforcement entity,” Agnifilo said in an episode of “Legal AF” published Friday.

“That is what’s head-scratching and kind of appalling in my opinion. They’re literally obstructing a criminal investigation! I could see if they said, ‘we’re investigating, it’s ours,’ and that happens sometimes… but here, they’re not investigating.”

Agnifilo went on to call the development “extremely concerning,” and Lisa Graves, a progressive activist and former senior DOJ official, praised those suing the DOJ over its refusal to release its remaining trove of Epstein-related files, arguing that litigation was likely the only recourse given its current leadership.

“I really appreciate the litigation that Katie Phang is pursuing. I think it’s really important, and quite frankly, I don’t trust [Attorney General] Todd Blanche,” Graves said.

“There’s every reason not to trust Todd Blanche based on his longstanding effort: thousands of hours he spent trying to keep Donald Trump out of jail, which Donald Trump readily acknowledges. He was then rewarded with a job as deputy attorney general and then became the attorney general this summer.”