Journalist Katie Phang sues acting attorney general Todd Blanche over Epstein files

Lawsuit alleges DoJ breached transparency law by withholding records on Jeffrey Epstein and over-redacting disclosures

Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, engaged in a brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation" of a law requiring the justice department (DoJ) to release the entirety of the so-called Epstein files, a lawsuit filed in Washington DC alleges.

The action on Monday by Katie Phang, an investigative journalist and legal analyst, seeks to hold Blanche personally responsible for the DoJ's alleged failure to publish all the documents the government holds about Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender. A full release was mandated by a landmark transparency act passed by Congress in November, with a deadline of 19 December.