‘Inmates are running the asylum!’ Ex-prosecutor charts path to force DOJ’s hand on Epstein
As the Trump administration faces growing scrutiny over its failure to release files on Jeffrey Epstein with limited redactions – as it's required to by law – former federal prosecutor Kristy Greenberg charted a path Saturday for Democratic lawmakers to force the administration’s hand.
Trump’s Justice Department was hammered last week after failing to comply with the newly enacted Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill that required the DOJ to release all of its files on Epstein by Dec. 19, and with redactions limited to protecting the identities of victims and minors.
Instead, the DOJ released only a small fraction of its files on Epstein by the deadline, and with redactions outside the scope of what the new law permitted. One file in particular drew scrutiny; a 2020 email indicating the DOJ had “anticipated” filing charges against 10 potential Epstein co-conspirators, though sections that presumably listed the names of those individuals were mostly blacked out.
Appearing Saturday on MS Now, where she also serves as a legal analyst, Greenberg pointed to the 2020 email as a potential lever to force the DOJ to release its trove of Epstein documents, and in full.
“That whole memo is redacted, other than saying 'anticipated charges' and that a meeting with the deputy attorney general took place,” Greenberg said.
“That is exactly the kind of information that the American people want to see. If [the Southern District of New York] did want to bring charges against other people, who stopped it, and what was the evidence that would have allowed them to bring such a case? Those kinds of things are what should be seen.”
As to what course of actions Democratic lawmakers should take, Greenberg said that filing a lawsuit was the only path forward.
“If the DOJ fails to comply, then they are in contempt of a court order; any other avenue here doesn't really work,” she continued.
“Sure, you could find them in contempt of Congress, but are they really going to put these guys in jail or detain them? No. You can refer them for criminal prosecution to the DOJ, but the inmates are running the asylum, so that's not going to do any good! This has to be handled in court. That's what they're next move should be.”