A federal judge gave a chilling warning to Justice Department lawyers fighting the further releases of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein: If they don’t comply with court orders, contempt proceedings could ruin their futures.
Judge Emmet Sullivan of the DC District Court has demanded answers from the Justice Department as to why they haven’t released some records from the investigations into the late sex offender. On Thursday, the judge warned the department that the answers it has given so far, including in the courtroom Thursday, weren’t enough and invoked an infamous botched criminal trial of a sitting US senator.
“The public has a right to know what the hell is going on in this case. The victims have a right to know. The court has a right to know,” Sullivan said at the hearing, coolly pressing a Justice Department lawyer on whether he could provide any more answers. “The law is still in full force and effect. The court is just ensuring compliance.”
The case, filed by journalist Katie Phang, seeks to force the release of some FBI documents related to Epstein and to lift some redactions of names of people emailing him. Sullivan questioned why handwritten notes FBI agents took during some witness interviews years ago aren’t part of the millions of pages the Justice Department previously released.
