The Justice Department is urgently battling a government watchdog's bid to force the release of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's private communications about Jeffrey Epstein before his Senate confirmation hearing.
The government watchdog American Oversight filed a lawsuit on June 23 after the Justice Department denied its request to fast-track the release of Blanche's emails and texts from the Epstein files review period.
The group wants the records by July 14 — one day before Blanche's confirmation hearing begins.
"[AO's strategy] would also wreak havoc on agencies and the courts," the department warned in a court filing Monday.
"Aside from the artificial urgency and absence of irreparable harm, American Oversight's request fails on the merits," the filing added, accusing the group of trying to force "a timeline that would require circumventing standard Freedom of Information Act processes, leapfrogging other expedited requests…"
"American Oversight seeks to jump the line in the FOIA request process," the filing complained.
Former Attorney General Pamela Bondi testified before Congress that Blanche had a "direct, day-to-day supervisory role" over the review of the Epstein files. President Donald Trump's name appears thousands of times in those files.
A New York Times report, cited in the lawsuit, described a July 2025 White House Situation Room meeting where Blanche "suggested various strategies for navigating the public backlash" over the files. Following that meeting, Blanche interviewed convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell — and she was transferred to a minimum-security prison.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) accused Blanche in March of personally blocking the Drug Enforcement Administration from releasing an unredacted document about Epstein's alleged drug trafficking and money laundering.
A separate lawsuit by journalist Katie Phang already produced a court order requiring Blanche to unredact Epstein emails — including one where Epstein wrote that he "loved the torture video." Blanche defied the July 2 deadline, announced an appeal, and called U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan's ruling a "perverse interpretation" aimed at "driving misleading headlines," a Justice Department spokesperson told CBS News.
Blanche's confirmation hearing is scheduled for July 15 and 16 before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
