When the Epstein files were released in December and January, the many mystifying redactions made certain journalists instantly smell a rat.
One such journalist, lawyer and MSNBC commentator Katie Phang, took the problem to court and won as of this week. The decision could have far-reaching implications for Tr*mp’s DOJ, including Todd Blanche, who’s now being told by a lawyer to offer up the unredacted files or face the legal consequences.
Yesterday afternoon, a DC judge ordered the removal of redactions on several Epstein files, including the names of several co-conspirators and “at least eight email exchanges with Mr. Epstein regarding a ‘torture video’ and sexual activity with young women, including minors.” We don’t know why these redactions were initially made, but we can venture a guess.
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But the most interesting part of the case has less to do with Epstein, and more to do with Tr*mp.
Remember that extremely disturbing allegation from a witness deemed credible by the FBI in the 1980s concerning a girl between 13 and 15 years old getting SA’ed by Tr*mp?
And remember how the DOJ tried to hide the file only to initiate a Streisand Effect that saw the same account getting splashed across multiple major cities in billboard form?
Well, apparently the judge has also ordered that the full FBI notes from that sordid episode be turned over.
Phang made a compelling case, and now Blanche must either comply with the release demand, or show legitimate cause as why he is unable to release the unredacted documents. He has until July 2 to do this.
Sadly, I think we all know which path he’s going to take, even if it gets him in even deeper trouble. If there’s one thing Tr*mp goons know how to do, it’s get away with breaking the law in ever more egregious ways.
Blanche and the DOJ first disobeyed the instructions to release the files in full on December 19th, 30 days after the Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law. That day, the DOJ only made a fraction of the files available in heavily-redacted form. A month later, in late January, they released another tranche, totaling 3 million of what is conjectured to be around 6 million files.
But there were more problems. Not only were the files redacted to protect the names of powerful figures while leaving many underage victims’ faces, bodies, and identifying details viewable, certain pages concerning allegations about Tr*mp’s treatment of victims mysteriously disappeared shortly afterward, only to be reuploaded after netizens discovered the sneaky change.
Despite Tr*mp’s best attempts at protecting himself from the fallout, the redactions have caused far more problems for him that he might have anticipated. Since the January release, there have been projections on prominent public buildings linking Tr*mp to Epstein’s SA empire, a Times Square billboard calling attention to their special friendship, and a Donald J. Tr*mp and Jeffrey Epstein memorial library, where anyone can read thousands of binders of printed-out Epstein files in Washington.
Unfortunately, despite many of the allegations about Tr*mp in the files, the DOJ has been able to shift focus away from the scandal and toward Tr*mp’s many high profile distraction fumbles, including the Iran War. Now, however, as the midterms inch closer and the war comes to a definitive close, the public attention could finally be exactly where Democrats need it to be.
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