Attorney General Todd Blanche's Justice Department keeps tipping its hand that something is buried in the Epstein files, according to a legal expert suing him.
Lawyer and journalist Katie Phang, who is suing Blanche for the unredacted Epstein files, said on Thursday's episode of "Sidebar with Katie Phang" that DOJ stonewalling international law enforcement agencies is "a big tell that there is something there that they don't want to turn over."
Phang's analysis came after a federal appeals court denied Blanche's motion to pause U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan's order requiring DOJ to begin reviewing and producing foreign-language documents in the Epstein files. Phang read on air from the two-page order, which said the government "failed to show that it is irreparably harmed by merely initiating review of foreign language documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act."
Phang pointed out that England, France and New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez have all been shut out by Trump's DOJ.
"If you didn't have something to hide, wouldn't you be the first, as Todd Blanche, the personal lawyer for convicted felon Donald Trump, wouldn't you be the first to volunteer turning over these documents?" Phang said.
She noted that Blanche appealed only the foreign-language portion of her preliminary injunction, leaving alone rulings on FBI handwritten interview notes, improperly redacted emails and a proposed indictment against Epstein and three co-defendants.
"Why are you appealing the foreign language portion only unless you have something that you're trying to hide?" Phang asked.
She added that no one at the FBI or DOJ has ever attempted to translate the documents.
"So either Todd Blanche is just being incredibly lazy and he just didn't want to have the work done or he hasn't wanted to do the work because he knows once he starts to do it what's going to come out is going to be incredibly damning," Phang said.
Phang acknowledged she was speculating but said Blanche alone could settle the question.
"The only way to dispel that speculation is to just produce d— pieces of paper," she said. "Every time they open their mouths, every time they file a document in my lawsuit, they tell on themselves."