Judge orders expedited processing of request for records related to DOJ's handling of Epstein files
Source: ABC News
November 25, 2025, 4:52 PM
The Department of Justice is facing new scrutiny over the decision to withhold the Jeffrey Epstein files earlier this year.
A federal judge on Monday ordered the DOJ to expedite processing of a Freedom of Information Act request related to the Trump administration’s decision in July not to release files from the investigation of Epstein.
With the DOJ already facing a Dec. 19 deadline to turn over the Epstein files, as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the ruling could shed light on why the Trump administration reversed course on its earlier vow to release the files. A joint FBI and DOJ memo in July concluded there was “no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials” and that their review "did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."
Progressive legal nonprofit Democracy Forward brought the lawsuit after the Justice Department "constructively denied its expedited review request" regarding the internal records, according to the ruling, including whether Attorney General Pam Bondi “misled the American people in representing that the ‘client list’ was on her desk and ready for review,” and whether the DOJ “reversed course on the decision to disclose the Epstein matter case files out of a desire to cover-up the content within.” Specifically, the FOIA request sought records that might show that the reported mention of Trump’s name in the files prompted the reversal.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-orders-expedited-processing-request-records-related-dojs/story?id=127872573
Link to ORDER (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.283567/gov.uscourts.dcd.283567.17.0_1.pdf
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