Judge orders DOJ to submit unredacted Epstein files; journalist seeks fines

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More Epstein Files Could Come Out: Here’s What We Could Learn

Publication Date: July 27, 2026

Topline

The Justice Department will turn over unredacted Epstein files to a federal judge this week as part of a dispute over whether they should be publicly released. This could set the stage for a new set of documents to be made public, despite the Trump administration’s efforts to keep them under wraps.

Key Facts

• Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Saturday that the DOJ must turn over a set of redacted or withheld documents about Epstein to the court by Thursday. The court will review the documents “in camera,” meaning privately, without other parties or the press present.
• The files at issue include multiple emails about women where the name of the person Epstein was emailing with is redacted, as well as FBI notes regarding allegations against President Donald Trump, documents not in English, and names of potential Epstein co-conspirators in a draft indictment against the financier.
• Journalist Katie Phang sued the DOJ, arguing that keeping the files hidden violates the Epstein Files Transparency Act and her right to report on them. While Sullivan previously sided with her, the government has disputed the ruling and fought to keep the documents hidden.
• Sullivan ordered the government to either turn over the documents or explain why it could not. The DOJ responded by alleging it either could not turn over the documents or was not required to—making arguments that Phang has alleged are insufficient, such as claiming one name did not have to be unredacted because it had already been reported in the press.
• Sullivan will review the unredacted files and decide whether they should be released. If he believes they should be, he will also decide whether to pause his order so the Trump administration can appeal—which could keep the files private for potentially months longer as the case moves to a higher court.
• Phang has also asked the court to fine Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche $1,000 per day for each day the files are not released, in order to compel the government to make them public speedily.

News Peg

The DOJ’s deadline to turn over the files falls on the same day the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote on whether Blanche’s nomination for the permanent attorney general role should move forward to a full Senate vote. Blanche’s handling of the Epstein files—particularly regarding documents that were either improperly redacted or withheld—has become a major sticking point in the fight over his confirmation. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Blanche needed to meet with Epstein victims before he would vote in his favor. Blanche ultimately did meet with victims shortly after Tillis made his demand, but the victims have decried that meeting as woefully insufficient.

Crucial Quote

Former federal prosecutor Joyce White Vance argued Saturday that Sullivan’s order to review the documents privately suggests the judge is not willing to take the DOJ at its word that the Epstein files under scrutiny do not need to be released or unredacted.

“The government has acted like it has something to hide, even after Congress passed the Transparency Act and Trump signed it into law. So the Judge isn’t accepting what the government has represented to it as truthful, and is requiring documentation to support its claims.”

When Could These Epstein Files Be Released?

Sullivan could rule anytime after the Thursday deadline that the government must release the documents publicly—either immediately, as Phang wants, or after a 7-day or 60-day delay, which is what the DOJ wants if a release is ordered. While some documents would be able to be released quickly (e.g., materials with only a few redactions), others could take longer to produce (e.g., materials in foreign languages). If the judge rules the documents do not have to be released, the timeline for public access remains uncertain.