Sullivan Orders DOJ to Justify Redactions in Epstein File Release
A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to release a batch of previously redacted Epstein-related documents or explain to the court why it should not have to.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan granted journalist Katie Phang’s request for a preliminary injunction on June 25, 2026, and gave the department until July 2 to respond. The order does not force the DOJ to release everything immediately; instead, it requires the department to address five categories of materials and either produce them with limited redactions or justify why specific information should remain sealed.
Those categories include:
- Emails identified by Bates numbers, with sender and recipient names redacted.
- Two DOJ documents with names of possible co-conspirators blacked out.
- Underlying FBI interview notes supporting four FD-302 reports, with victim identities still eligible for redaction.
- Foreign-language materials that may fall under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
- A redaction log required by that law, to be made public and updated as additional records are released.
Phang, a journalist and legal commentator, brought the case under the Administrative Procedure Act, stating that the DOJ’s slow release of Epstein-related records unlawfully delayed agency action and interfered with her reporting. Sullivan rejected the idea that she should be limited to a standard FOIA request because the transparency law was intended to require a broader release than FOIA would allow.
The court noted that the DOJ had not adequately answered Phang’s specific claims. Among the records at issue are handwritten FBI interview notes connected to allegations that Trump sexually assaulted a woman when she was a minor, along with emails to Epstein and documents naming potential co-conspirators. Trump has denied the allegation.
