A federal judge ruled Thursday that courts can force the Justice Department to release Epstein files that the Trump administration has fought to keep hidden.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued the ruling in Washington, D.C., siding with independent journalist Katie Phang in the first lawsuit ever brought to enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act — a law Congress passed nearly unanimously in 2025.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche must now explain why he shouldn't be forced to release names redacted from emails that court documents describe as referencing a "torture video" and sexual activity with minors, the names of co-conspirators in a draft federal indictment, and FBI interview notes from a victim who says Epstein introduced her to President Donald Trump when she was approximately 13 — and that Trump assaulted her. Trump has denied the allegation.
Instead of defending his actions, Blanche argued the court had no power to hear the case at all.
That gamble failed.
When a defendant in federal court fails to challenge specific allegations, those allegations are deemed admitted.
"The Attorney General has conceded that he is in violation of the Act," the ruling states directly.
Blanche also never reviewed foreign-language materials in the Epstein files. And he still hasn't published an explanation for his redactions — something the law required by December 19, 2025, more than six months ago.
The ruling is a landmark for a simple reason: the transparency law had no enforcement mechanism built into it. Phang's attorneys sued under the Administrative Procedure Act — a law that lets courts review and overturn government agency decisions. Judge Sullivan found that DOJ's document releases count as agency decisions a court can reverse. Any journalist, researcher, or watchdog group can now use that same door.
Blanche asked for more time before the order took effect — up to 60 days. The judge said no.
"There is no competing harm to the government with the issuance of preliminary relief that orders compliance with statutes," Sullivan wrote.
DOJ's only move now is to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block the order — a court battle the government must fight, having never denied it broke the law.