A federal judge warned Attorney General Todd Blanche that Justice Department lawyers could face contempt of court for defying orders to release Epstein files.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan delivered the warning Thursday at a status hearing in journalist Katie Phang's lawsuit against Blanche, which has now produced two court orders Blanche has defied.
Journalist Scott MacFarlane reported from the courtroom that Justice Department attorney Andrew Block was "visibly flustered" as he faced questions from the judge about why Blanche had not complied with orders to release Epstein files.
Over and over again, the DOJ attorney struggled to explain why Blanche was protecting the documents that Phang sought.
Sullivan pressed Block on why handwritten FBI interview notes had not been turned over, noting the Justice Department had pointed to no legal authority allowing it to withhold them.
"I want to focus on the FBI interview notes," Sullivan said, according to Allison Gill, who monitored the hearing on a court-provided call-in line. "But you didn't point to provisions in the [The Epstein Files Transparency Act] that allow you to withhold substantially similar things."
"The decision was that the handwritten notes were duplicative," Block told the court.
"How can the court know that?" Sullivan shot back.
"I don't have much insight. I could take it back to DOJ. If you have an order..." Block replied.
"But that was part of the order," Sullivan said.
"They just don't want to produce this," Phang told the court. "It's our assertion that they're not duplicative."
Block called the accusation "completely baseless," insisting DOJ had made a "herculean effort" — but he fared no better when Sullivan turned to a separate deadline the Justice Department had also blown.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act required the Justice Department to publish a public log explaining every redaction it made. Sullivan asked Block when that would happen. Block said he had no date.
"The public demands a time frame; it's not just me," Sullivan said. "It's been 7 months since production was ordered, so what's the DOJ's vision?"
"I'm not in a position to give you that date," Block replied.
"But you knew this was going to be discussed today, and no one at DOJ is in a position to give this court a date?" Sullivan pressed. "Just get someone on the phone who can give me a date. Otherwise the court will be forced to impose a date."
"I've already done that!" Sullivan said when Block asked for a clearer order. "Do you want me to issue another order saying 'I really mean it this time'?"
Phang's attorney told the court DOJ was "two orders past" the original compliance order and called for sanctions, according to Gill's reporting.
Sullivan responded by telling the story of the Ted Stevens prosecution, a case in which he held Justice Department lawyers in civil contempt after they failed to turn over documents — one of the only federal judges ever to do so, Gill reported.
"That's not a threat. That's a promise," Sullivan said.