{"id":9551,"date":"2026-08-13T23:08:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T23:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9551"},"modified":"2026-08-13T23:08:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T23:08:24","slug":"epstein-judge-the-public-has-a-right-to-know-what-the-hell-is-going-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9551","title":{"rendered":"Epstein judge: \u2018The public has a right to know what the hell is going on\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>\n            A federal judge gave a chilling warning to Justice Department lawyers fighting the further releases of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein: If they don\u2019t comply with court orders, contempt proceedings could ruin their futures.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9547\">The Lindsay Clancy trial brings maternal mental health into the spotlight<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            Judge Emmet Sullivan of the DC District Court has demanded answers from the Justice Department as to why they haven\u2019t released some records from the investigations into the late sex offender. On Thursday, the judge warned the department that the answers it has given so far, including in the courtroom Thursday, weren\u2019t enough and invoked an infamous botched criminal trial of a sitting US senator.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cThe public has a right to know what the hell is going on in this case. The victims have a right to know. The court has a right to know,\u201d Sullivan said at the hearing, coolly pressing a Justice Department lawyer on whether he could provide any more answers. \u201cThe law is still in full force and effect. The court is just ensuring compliance.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The case, filed by journalist Katie Phang, seeks to force the release of some FBI documents related to Epstein and to lift some redactions of names of people emailing him. Sullivan questioned why handwritten notes FBI agents took during some witness interviews years ago aren\u2019t part of the millions of pages the Justice Department previously released.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Sullivan also took issue with the Justice Department not releasing documents related to Epstein that are in written in foreign languages, and for not saying when it plans to publish explanations for redactions it made in the Epstein files in the Federal Register, which is required by Congress.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Sullivan had previously ordered the Justice Department to explain to him why it hasn\u2019t released some Epstein records and describe why it couldn\u2019t say more.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI have nothing else to say,\u201d DOJ lawyer Andrew Block told Sullivan on Thursday.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The hearing then took an unusual turn. Sullivan gave the Justice Department lawyers a history lesson one of the darkest episodes in their agency\u2019s history \u2013 in a case he presided over nearly two decades ago.\n    <\/p>\n<div>\n<header>\n<span>\n      Related article\n    <\/span>\n<\/header>\n<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"20260804-politics-comer-epstein.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-9550\" height=\"144\" src=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/099c9eae6a761e2ef89387004920e0c4.jpg\" width=\"256\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<figcaption>Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier\/CNN\/Rick Friedman\/Corbis\/Getty Images<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n<span>Trump\u2019s urging the country to move on from Epstein \u2014 but a year later frustrations are boiling over<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<div>11  min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            Speaking off the cuff to a silent but full courtroom, Sullivan described for nearly a half hour how he had held Justice Department prosecutors in civil contempt of court in the criminal case against then-Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican. The prosecutors hadn\u2019t been transparent, and a whistleblower unearthed for the judge prosecutorial misconduct.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The situation was so severe that it has shaped Sullivan\u2019s approach to government lawyers, the DC District Court and the Justice Department since.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9531\">Kennedy Center votes to put Trump\u2019s name back on building and close for renovations<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            In 2008, Stevens was convicted of corruption. He lost his reelection bid later that year. But later, the guilty verdict was wiped away because Sullivan discovered the Justice Department withheld documents from Stevens\u2019 defense before the trial. (Stevens died in a plane crash in 2010.)\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI told the attorneys I had no choice; I was holding each one of them in contempt,\u201d Sullivan said to the three Justice Department lawyers at counsel\u2019s table on Thursday. \u201cI had no choice \u2026 how else was I going to ensure that justice was administered?\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            In the past, Sullivan said he was a judge willing to sanction Justice Department lawyers and refer them to bar discipline if he believed they hadn\u2019t complied with his orders.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The black mark of a contempt proceeding, Sullivan added on Thursday, could hurt the lawyers for the rest of their careers.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cThat\u2019s not a threat. It\u2019s a promise. No one\u2019s in trouble. I\u2019m just bringing it to your attention,\u201d Sullivan said.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            He said, repeating several times, that the Justice Department lawyers in Phang\u2019s case were \u201cnot in trouble.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cI\u2019m just putting everyone on the same page,\u201d Sulivan said. \u201cI\u2019m just having a conversation.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            He then opened the floor of the courtroom for responses from the lawyers in the case. No one stood up.\n    <\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9527\">It\u2019s not just a gut feeling: Foodborne illness outbreaks are especially bad this summer<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge gave a chilling warning to Justice Department lawyers fighting the further releases of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein: If they don\u2019t comply with court orders, contempt proceedings could ruin their futures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Epstein judge: \u2018The public has a right to know what the hell is going on\u2019 - Relocation Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Epstein judge: \u2018The public has a right to know what the hell is going on\u2019 - Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A federal judge gave a chilling warning to Justice Department lawyers fighting the further releases of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein: If they don\u2019t comply with court orders, contempt proceedings could ruin their futures.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=9551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T23:08:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/099c9eae6a761e2ef89387004920e0c4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3d25fb966f660ab012820a9e0acc09be\"},\"headline\":\"Epstein judge: \u2018The public has a right to know what the hell is going on\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-13T23:08:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551\"},\"wordCount\":742,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/45a165decb451847563e98a88d50cf17.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationtimess.com\\\/?p=9551\",\"name\":\"Epstein judge: \u2018The public has a right to know what the hell is going on\u2019 - 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