Judge orders expedited processing of request for records related to DOJ’s handling of Epstein files

(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice is facing new scrutiny over the decision to withhold the Jeffrey Epstein files earlier this year.

A federal judge on Monday ordered the DOJ to expedite processing of a Freedom of Information Act request related to the Trump administration’s decision in July not to release files from the investigation of Epstein.

With the DOJ already facing a Dec. 19 deadline to turn over the Epstein files, as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the ruling could shed light on why the Trump administration reversed course on its earlier vow to release the files. A joint FBI and DOJ memo in July concluded there was “no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials” and that their review “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

Progressive legal nonprofit Democracy Forward brought the lawsuit after the Justice Department “constructively denied its expedited review request” regarding the internal records, according to the ruling, including whether Attorney General Pam Bondi “misled the American people in representing that the ‘client list’ was on her desk and ready for review,” and whether the DOJ “reversed course on the decision to disclose the Epstein matter case files out of a desire to cover-up the content within.” Specifically, the FOIA request sought records that might show that the reported mention of Trump’s name in the files prompted the reversal. 

Judge Tanya Chutkan – who oversaw Trump’s criminal case related to his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election result – ruled on Monday that Democracy Forward demonstrated that their request was reasonably tailored to a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity that affect public confidence,” clearing the legal bar to order expedited processing. 

“The request for ‘records reflecting all correspondence between Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’ is plainly tied to the concern discussed in the media that the Justice Department reversed its position on the disclosure of the Epstein documents only after Attorney General Bondi reportedly informed the President that his name appeared in the files,” Judge Chutkan wrote. 

In the same ruling, Judge Chutkan partially denied Democracy Forward’s request for records mentioning “whistleblower” and “flight logs” – concluding that those terms were overbroad – but granted the bulk of their request. 

Chutkan ordered both sides to file a report by Dec. 5 to determine the next steps in the FOIA request and lawsuit.

Separately, on Tuesday, the Department of Justice asked two judges in the Southern District of New York to authorize the release of grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, ahead of the Dec. 19 deadline for the DOJ to release the Epstein files, per the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton – whom Attorney General Pam Bondi tapped to lead an investigation into prominent Democrats associated with Epstein – signed a motion asking the judges who oversaw the Epstein and Maxwell cases to approve the release of the grand jury materials, subject to the necessary redactions.

“In the light of the Act’s clear mandate, the Court should authorize the Department of Justice to release the grand jury transcripts and exhibits and modify any preexisting protective orders that would otherwise prevent public disclosure by the Government of materials the disclosure of which is required by the Act,” the motion said.

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