Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche didn't defend a single allegation in his latest court filing. His opponent — a journalist and lawyer — is now arguing that silence speaks for itself.
In a reply brief filed Monday, Katie Phang — a Yale graduate and trial attorney turned independent journalist who spent three years hosting her own MSNBC show — accused Blanche of what her original complaint called a "brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation" of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Her case: he conceded every charge.
"Blanche does not defend redacting the names of Epstein's associates in salacious emails," the reply brief states. "Blanche does not defend redacting the names of potential co-conspirators in Department of Justice documents. Blanche does not defend withholding documents containing allegations against President Trump."
Under the law — passed with bipartisan support and signed by Trump in November 2025 — the Justice Department had 30 days to release all Epstein files. It released a mere 3,965 on the due date.
What came next was worse. A 2009 email with the subject line "Trump" — summarizing what Trump said to the victims' lawyer about his relationship with the convicted sex offender — arrived heavily redacted. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said the content "seems to be at odds" with things Trump has said about his break with Epstein.
Blanche claimed the email was attorney-client privileged. MS NOW found that the explanation likely doesn't hold up legally.
A photo of Trump on Epstein's desk was removed from the DOJ website and restored only after public outcry.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has since confirmed who called the shots. "He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files," she said of Blanche in an interview with lawmakers.
Survivor attorney Arick Fudali put the pattern plainly. "Strikingly, the DOJ seems to have made no 'errors' in redacting the names of potential associates and potential abusers in the files," he told MS NOW. Victim names, by contrast, spilled everywhere.
Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney, is now his nominee for permanent attorney general. The Epstein files will follow him into his confirmation hearings.
