The Division of Justice did certainly submit some recordsdata. The web site is messy, incomplete, and unimaginable to go looking. As in actually unimaginable—the search characteristic is completely damaged.
However the operative phrase right here, actually, is “some.” As in “not all.” Which we knew was coming, as a result of Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche took day out from declaring conflict on judges who rule towards the Trump administration to elucidate that the administration has no intention of obeying the legislation and releasing all of the Epstein recordsdata by Friday’s deadline.
Todd, did it ever happen to you that judges won’t persistently rule towards you and your former non-public legal defendant consumer, who now occurs to be the present president of the USA, should you simply adopted the legal guidelines to start with?
“I give you my blessing” by Pedro Molina
“I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today. I expect that we’re going to release more documents over the next couple of weeks, so today several hundred thousand, and then over the next couple of weeks,” Blanche mentioned. “I expect several hundred thousand more.”
The legislation set a deadline for releasing all of the recordsdata. Friday. Not the deadline to begin to launch after which roll it out over a number of weeks. Not the deadline to “expect” to launch. Friday. All of them. Friday. As an alternative, we received some half-assed DOJ web site with an impossible-to-navigate construction and no data as to how a lot has already been launched and the way a lot the DOJ nonetheless has left to attempt to learn by and determine a solution to restrict any harm to Trump.
However per Blanche, the delay is as a result of they’re simply so gosh-darned apprehensive about defending Epstein’s victims. “There’s a lot of eyes looking at these, and we want to make sure that when we do produce the materials that we’re producing, that we’re protecting every single victim.”
Lawyer Common Pam Bondi
This excuse would possibly land higher if Blanche’s boss, Lawyer Common Pam Bondi, hadn’t bragged again in February about how she very sternly requested all of the Epstein paperwork for her evaluate. Or talked about how she was able to evaluate the Epstein consumer checklist sitting on her desk straight away, solely to later backtrack and say there was no such factor. Or if the DOJ hadn’t introduced again on July 7 that it had completed its “exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Jeffrey Epstein.”
If any of this stuff have been really true, these paperwork would have been reviewed a number of occasions, making a last-minute scramble to find out the place victims’ names appeared and get them redacted pointless.
And it’s not just like the administration didn’t know this was coming. Positive, they labored evening and day to cease the discharge, and positive, Home Speaker Mike Johnson mainly shut down the Home of Representatives to assist, however provided that the general public strain on this has been unrelenting for months, the DOJ might have been reviewing and redacting all alongside.
Sadly, when the administration thumbs its nostril at yet one more legislation, what on earth can be the recourse? Congress was barely in a position to get it collectively to go a legislation requiring the discharge. The USA Supreme Court docket appears very keen to agree that if Trump doesn’t wish to comply with legal guidelines, he doesn’t should.
Associated | Epstein stored pictures of Trump, younger ladies, and intercourse toys
Nonetheless, the Democrats on the Home Oversight Committee are neatly taking part in the lengthy recreation right here, releasing materials in bits and items with no mounted schedule. Maintain that risk hanging over the heads of Trump and the DOJ, Home Democrats.
Blanche and Bondi aren’t of their roles to execute the legal guidelines, they’re there to guard Trump. And if meaning breaking the legislation, they don’t care.
