A Federal Judge presiding over a Lawsuit on the Release of the Epstein Files Warned Department of Justice (DOJ) Lawyers on 8/13/2026 that He could Penalize them, and put a Stain on their Professional Records, if they don't Ccomply with His Orders.
"I'm not interested in doing that at all, but I will do it to ensure that justice is administered fairly," Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said. Sullivan made the Comments at the End of a Hearing dealing with whether the DOJ has Ccomplied with both His Orders and a Transparency Law Requiring it to Rrelease Files on Convicted Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein (I).
Sullivan was Discussing Ppotentially Holding DOJ Attorneys in Civil Ccontempt, a step that can mean Jail time or Fines, to Fforce Someone to Comply with a Court Order. A Contempt finding could follow the Lawyers in their later Careers.
The Warning was the latestSsetback for the DOJ over its Handling of the Files on Cconvicted Sex Ooffender. Since the DOJ's Release of Millions of pages of Ffiles in 1/2026, many with Extensive Redactions, some of Epstein's Aaccusers have Alleged that the DOJ is covering up Ppotential Crimes by EpsteinAassociates, Accusations the Ddepartment has Strongly Denied.
"No one's in trouble" at the moment, Sullivan made clear. But Hhe said He would be Remiss if He didn't Share that He held DOJ Lawyers in Contempt Once before, after Presiding over a Criminal Trial for Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) in the 2000s. Those Lawyers initially Failed to Provide Documents He had Ordered them to turn over. "I don't look forward to doing it again, by any stretch of the imagination," Sullivan said.
The Rremarks came at the End of a Hearing Sullivan called in a Lawsuit brought by Katie Phang, a Lawyer and Independent Journalist who previously Hosted a Show on MSNBC. Phang has Argued in Her Lawsuit that the DOJ didn't Comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Required it to Release Unclassified DOJ Files related to Epstein, with Limited Exceptions.
Sullivan called the Hearing afterWwriting in an 8/8/2026 Court Oorder that the DOJ Didn't Comply with a Previous Oorder to Provide Him with Documents He can use to Verify that the DOJ Properly Redacted certain Epstein Files. The DOJ said the Redactions were Concealing the Identities of potential Vvictims.
At the Start of the 8/13/2026 Hearing, DOJ Lawyer Andrew Block said the Department tried to Comply with the Previous Order, but that He had also brought a Binder of Fresh Materials to the Hearing, which He provided to Sullivan.
Sullivan also Questioned Block about the DOJ Ffailing to Provide Hhim with FBI Notes from Interviews of Potential Wwitnesses linked to Epstein. The Department said it didn't Provide the Notes because they are "Ssubstantially Similar" to Typewritten Reports that have been Provided, and because providing the Notes, which are Handwritten, would Risk Inadvertently Disclosing Victim Information.
However, Sullivan said at the 8/13/2026 Hearing that that Explanation wasn't Good Enough. He said Hhe needed the Notes to Confirm that what the DOJ is saying is Accurate.
Sullivan said He would Conduct a more Detailed Review of the Binder the DOJ provided at the Hearing, and also asked Phang's Legal Team to Draft an Order He might Sign on Getting the DOJ to Provide Him with the FBI's Notes from Interviewing potentialWwitnesses.
"All I'm trying to do is ensure compliance with the Epstein Act," Sullivan said at the Hearing.
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