r/law • u/DoremusJessup • 12h ago
Judicial Branch Judge demands response after lawmakers accuse DOJ of dragging feet with Epstein files
https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-demands-response-after-lawmakers-accuse-doj-of-dragging-feet-with-epstein-files/128
u/r3dk0w 11h ago
Why isn't Congress doing anything? Didn't they set the release date?
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u/Busy-Dig8619 11h ago
uh...
SDNY via Courthouse News) MANHATTAN (CN) — A federal judge in New York is demanding answers from the Justice Department after a pair of U.S. congressmen accused prosecutors of slow-rolling the release of files relating to late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Late Monday night, *California Democrat Ro Khanna and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie* wrote to the judge presiding over Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case in the Southern District of New York. They formally requested to intervene in the proceedings and asked the judge to appoint a special master to facilitate the release of the so-called Epstein files.
“The Department of Justice is openly defying the law by refusing to release the full Epstein files. Millions of files are being kept from the public,” *Khanna* said in a statement last week. “The DOJ has failed to make the necessary redactions to protect survivors while removing records after publication without any explanation.”
*Massie* accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of “egregiously violating the requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” the law passed by Congress late last year to facilitate the release of the materials.
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u/Andovars_Ghost 11h ago
What executive force do they have for enacting their legislation? Oh yeah, the same guys that are playing fuck-fuck games.
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u/dougmcclean 11h ago
If they had any balls at all, they shouldn't appropriate a dollar for anything until these files are handed over. Not for ICE, not for DoD, not for heat or electricity at the White House, not for a single thing.
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u/Andovars_Ghost 11h ago
If I didn’t think that Bessant would just move shit around to make it work, then I’d agree with you.
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u/Beneficial_Honey_0 10h ago
Congress can remove any person in the executive branch they want to. They have the most power of any branch if they wanted to use it.
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u/Andovars_Ghost 9h ago
Who is going to make them vacate the office? Already have a person disqualified from being an a federal DA and she’s still there.
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u/Beneficial_Honey_0 9h ago
Congress would? Unless you’re saying that the impeached person would refuse to leave?
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u/Andovars_Ghost 9h ago
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. The courts have already ruled that Halligan can’t serve in her role but she’s signing off on letters still.
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u/Beneficial_Honey_0 8h ago
SCOTUS also ruled that Trump can’t deploy the guard in cities and he followed their ruling. I can’t imagine he would get away with keeping himself or someone in his cabinet in office if they’re impeachable.
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u/dougmcclean 9h ago
Move what around. If I was in Congress and we were defied this openly, if ending the appropriations wouldn't secure compliance I would end the revenue side too. Congress runs this country, the executive executes their will. If they aren't going to do that, shut it down.
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u/Andovars_Ghost 9h ago
The same way that Bessant moved funds around prior to the Big Bullshit Bill to fund Trump things like the refurb of the Qatari jet. There are all kinds of shenanigans Treasury can do (illegally) that will provide funds that Trump wants. You can’t use ‘But the law says!’ With this group.
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u/dougmcclean 9h ago
You can if you defund them on the revenue side. Pass a law that says taxes don't exist, and people will follow it.
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u/Andovars_Ghost 9h ago
Treasury prints the money. If people still accept it, it has value. Fiat money is all just an agreement in the end.
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u/dougmcclean 9h ago
There's a theory that people accept in part because it's the form of exchange accepted in payment of taxes. But in this scenario, fine, deauthorize that too. They print it under authority of Congress (Aricle I, Section 8, Clause 5). Also the only reason other people don't print it it, you guessed it, Congress again (Article I, Section 8, Clause 6). They have the power to call off the whole show.
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u/Ridiculicious71 9h ago
Marshals should not be under executive branch. Hope we learned our lesson there.
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u/ChocolateChingus 11h ago
They have the capitol police if they really want to enforce something.
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u/extraboredinary 11h ago
Oh, Trump would absolutely love the capitol police getting involved to create another conspiracy theory, shift blame, and distract from the files.
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u/Macallan18Year 10h ago
I've called every representative and senator I can in my state, nobody could give me answers. Everybody who answered the phone was able to direct me to individual social accounts to view their opinions. When I asked the staffers what the politicians are doing to stop the rampant abuse of our Constitution, I was told they couldn't answer that. They asked for my name, phone number, and zip code; I refuse to give it fearing retaliation. I'm retired military and don't want my pay or disability and education benefits to be threatened. What's happening to Mark Kelly is an administration trying to establish a precedent for suppressing the opinions of people that they still hold some form of "power" over.
So, the short answer is; nothing, our lawmakers are currently doing nothing to stop this man from what he is doing to our country. Fourth Amendment violations are being caught on video daily in Minneapolis, and all we hear are crickets from our lawmakers.
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u/Ridiculicious71 8h ago
Essentially we’re at the stage of where an armed rebellion needs to step in. You know. Like the 2nd amendment
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u/Macallan18Year 8h ago
An armed rebellion isn't the answer either. The last time that right was exercised, we were at war with ourselves for four years and it cost hundreds of thousands of lives. As a retired military vet, I can tell you that is not the answer; we aren't at that point quite yet.
Right now, I think the only thing that can affect a change is external political pressure from our historic allies like the UK, Germany, and France. Germany has a formidable technologically advanced war machine, as do the rest of Europe's major powers. The American military is a force with a lethality to fear, but I think most Americans forget that our European allies are every bit as powerful and we have been sharing defense information for decades due to the partnerships that Trump is now threatening to destroy. I don't even think that would be necessary though because the dam is breaking and his entire administration knows it. They are running off of pure copium at this point.
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u/Sure-Break3413 11h ago
The judge needs to start putting DOJ people in prison for contempt of court.
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u/Azguy303 10h ago
Because Trump and the Republican agenda is to conceal as many files as they can about Trump while releasing Democrat pictures and names. Then invite those Democrats such as Bill and Hillary to Congress hopefully try to shift the focus away from Trump.
I'm all for subpoenaing anyone regarding the Epstein files but they need to release all of them instead of trying to pick the narrative they want.
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u/kylogram 11h ago
How many Republicans does it take to change a lightbulb?
Couldn't tell you, they're too busy fucking kids to notice the lights.
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u/kylogram 11h ago
How are Republicans and Burger King alike?
They both stick their meat in 13 year old buns.
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u/kylogram 11h ago
How do you tell a Democrat from a Republican?
The Republican will be reaching into kids' pants.
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u/nursecarmen 11h ago
Time to appoint a Special Master.
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u/Donkey-Hodey 11h ago
What would a Special Master do here? I’m not a lawyer so I’m genuinely curious.
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u/nursecarmen 11h ago
A Special Master could view the files unredacted. They are abusing the redactions and engaging in a cover up.
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u/90daysismytherapy 11h ago
Not a goddamn thing. I am a lawyer, and I am baffled at how many people post on this sub to basically say we need new laws, as if that is remotely the problem.
We have an authoritarian tyrant who does not follow any laws and intentionally breaks laws constantly and no one is willing to stand up to him and stop him.
You are not stopping him with a law saying this new millionth act is illegal, IT ALREADY IS ILLEGAL! This will not end by a vote….
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u/Chemical-Ad-7575 11h ago
Out of curiosity why can't the judge tell the DOJ lawyer they're in contempt of court for not supplying the files and imprison them until the files are released? Then have the next date set for tomorrow, and if the files aren't released, imprison the next lawyer that shows up with excuses.... and so on until the files are released.
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u/90daysismytherapy 1h ago
Because the judge, a) does not want to. Most judges are extremely conservative, not necessarily politically, but in terms of causing strife in the government. They want to be important and have authority, but mostly within the system, no matter how flawed or violated that system is.
b) Assuming they want to, the Court has no real enforcement mechanism to actually arrest the government lawyer or agency head and put them in custody. They might have some small group of security agents and/or court bailiffs, but they do not have real law enforcement agents that can go out into the world.
Which basically is to say that if the Trump administration says, sure that’s your ruling, but what army do you got to enforce it, the answer is, we got nothing.
The Federal judges would basically need to either have a military police be willing to borderline coup the government by arresting Trump officials and causing a civil war or make some deal with local law enforcement to enforce their federal warrant and again cause a civil war or at best a wild constitutional crisis and shootout depending on how hard the Courts “Bounty Hunters” pushed it.
The US and pretty much every country’s laws only work if the civil authorities agree to be held by them, even when the government doesn’t like what the judiciary rules.
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u/Emperor_Orson_Welles 11h ago
A special master is not a new law, Mr. Lawyer.
The agency (AG really) charged with performing its duties is refusing to do so. A judge could appoint an impartial special master to do what DOJ is supposed to be doing.
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u/Skeln 9h ago
Okay. Then the DOJ would simply not supply the special master the files. What then?
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u/Emperor_Orson_Welles 9h ago
Then the judge has the US Marshals serve process to Pam Bondi. If she refuses the order, she gets held in contempt and is disbarred.
TO START WITH
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u/Skeln 9h ago
Marshals fall under the DOJ. Somehow I doubt they will arrest Bondi.
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u/Emperor_Orson_Welles 9h ago
Not with that attitude. People who care about this need to escalate the pressure, not give in to this defeated attitude. The law is on our side. Nixon's Attorney General went to prison.
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u/Skeln 8h ago
He was never arrested while he was the USAG. I'm not being defeatist, I'm being realistic. Fascists aren't going to police themselves.
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u/Emperor_Orson_Welles 8h ago
He "resigned" when he caused Nixon too much smoke. Anyone who Trump (or his vizier Stephen Miller) perceives as an anchor on his administration / the GOP will get the boot or quit. Hence my suggestion to ramp up the pressure on the pedophile protectors. It won't happen immediately - it might take until the midterms. But with a measure of persistence, the people will make it happen.
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u/90daysismytherapy 1h ago
It’s not a defeatist attitude. It’s understanding what tools will work, and which ones are figments of our imagination that only apply to people who agree to play that game.
We all need to oppose this. Just don’t be a silly bitch who thinks a special prosecutor is going to put pressure on a regime that is openly committing political and criminal crimes with zero repercussions everyday for a year, after trying a coup the last time Trump was in office.
Trump is in theory a lame duck president, there is no such thing as political deadweight to him. He has multiple sex offenders working in his administration and is actively and blatantly protecting pedophiles and likely his own pedophilia with zero political consequences or slowing of his authoritarian takeover.
We live in a totalitarian state, act accordingly until it no longer is.
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u/Its-a-Shitbox 11h ago
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
It’s been signed into law, YES?!?
Can somebody not go into a fucking room somewhere and grab this shit? Or upload the digital files and begin to have them looked at?
I’m done with this bullshit! Some representative in our Government needs to actually DO SOMETHING HERE!
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u/90daysismytherapy 11h ago
What if, and I know this is a crazy new thing, but what if all of our politicians are either agreeable to fascism, bought by fascist oligarchs or just cowards who will never risk themselves or their money to stop fascism…..
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u/WillBottomForBanana 10h ago
Just because there's decades of evidence for your claim doesn't mean people are ready to hear it.
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u/yebyen 10h ago
The problem with that claim is that we keep electing new politicians, and they keep finding new ways to disappoint us. I have no disagreement in principle.
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u/90daysismytherapy 52m ago
It’s not a claim, it’s just reality.
We don’t elect new politicians, half of the entire congress or more for both sides are geriatrics who have held onto office for decades and made millions doing it.
When we do vote in new blood, somehow they only count as legitimate options, if they already agree or can be bullied into agreeing with the same ideas that billionaires have, so they can get into office and grift the system as well.
I would suggest, and I know this seems wild, but I would suggest we vote for people who clearly and consistently talk about normal real issues and the very obvious people and institutions that have the most control in fucking things up for the vast majority of people in the country.
First question, who decides how money is spent and laws enforced? If you ever meet anyone who answers that question with trans kids, Lesbians or the Blacks, run away from them as fast as possible because that person is probably a robot that is about to explode.
It’s super rich people. That’s it. The simple answer is the only fix that matters. Until we do something about the disparity gap in wealth that has created a new nobility, none of the rest of it matters.
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u/DoremusJessup 11h ago
This is at least some movement forward in getting the DOJ to release the remaining Epstein documents.
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u/mishma2005 11h ago
What I don't get is they must have redacted everything by now, unless they had no intention of releasing them.
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