Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Lawsuit Targets Todd Blanche Over Epstein Files Transparency Failures

Transcript

Lawsuit Targets Todd Blanche Over Epstein Files Transparency Failures · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. If the DOJ and Baby Billy Blanche thought
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: that the Epstein files were going away, they have not
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: been paying attention. And now we come to find out
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: that the DOJ and Baby Billy Blanche himself have been
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: sued by Katie Fang and she's alleging that Todd Blanche
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: and the DOJ have failed to comply with the law
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: and what the law states that they have to do,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: and now she's decided to file a lawsuit to prove
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: the point. And I think that there's some merit here
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: and I think that she's correct, but beyond that, I
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: have no idea how a court is going to respond
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: to this, and not because I think that Todd Baby
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Billy Blanche is right or that the DOJ has a
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: leg to stand on, but because a precedent. So it's
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: going to be interesting to see how this case moves
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: through the court and what ends up happening. And to
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: go a little bit deeper on the topic, we have
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: an article from The Independent and the headline, Trump's acting
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: DOJ chief is sued over his alleged failure to release
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: the complete Epstein files. This article was authored by Rachel Dobkin.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: President Donald Trump's acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, has been
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: sued over his alleged failure to release all the government's
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: This case is about defendant Todd blanche brazen, shocking and
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: ongoing violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a lawsuit
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: filed on behalf of journalist Katie Fang Read and look
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: props to Katie. I think that this is a great step,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: and if you have the resources to pursue it, I
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: say go for it. Now. How it ends up, that's
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: anybody's guests. But just calling them on the carpet is
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: a good for step because the DOJ they're very brazen
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: with this cover up, and honestly, I've never seen anything
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: like it, and it's going to give them a blueprint
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: of how to deal with this shit moving forward. If
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: they're effective in burying this Epstein case after it's been
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: brought back into the public like this, how do you
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: think other cases are going to end up? How do
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: you think other controversies that involve powerful people are going
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: to be handled? Well, they have the blueprint, and we
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: all know how power works, don't we. The lawsuit, filed
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Monday in federal court in Washington, DC, accuses Blanche, who
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: was the Deputy Attorney General at the time and formerly
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Trump's personal lawyer, of failing to comply with the law.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: There's nothing incorrect about that. They have failed to comply
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: with the law full stop. And not only that, but
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: they refuse to have Pam BONDI come an answer for
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: the decisions that were made. So yeah, I think a
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: lawsuit is long overdue. And what would happen if the
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: citizens of the United States got together and filed a
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: class action suit against the DOJ? What then? Something to
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: think about. Last fall, there was an intense bipartisan push
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: on Capitol Hill to release the so called Epstein files,
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: following backlash over what critics saw as the Trump administration's
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: lack of transparency in the case. Trump was friends with
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Epstein decades ago, but has not been formally accused of
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: any wrongdoing related to the late convicted sex offender. Well,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: the wrongdoing is the cover up. And I know that's
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: not salacious enough for a lot of people out there,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: But if you want to get to pay dirt, listen
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: to what I'm telling you. It's the cover up stupid.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: It always is. And if you truly want to hold
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: people accountable here, that's what we're going to focus on. Epstein,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: a wealthy financier who pleaded guilty in two thousand and
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: eight to sex crimes in Florida, was facing federal sex
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: trafficking charges in twenty nineteen when he died by suicide
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: in his New York jail cell. Allegedly. I love how
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: they say it with such conviction. He died by suicide
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: in his jail cell. Oh yeah, okay. The American public
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: has long sought answers about the extent of Epstein's crimes
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: and his potential ties to the global elite. Well, let's
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: not get carried away. The vast majority of people didn't
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: care about this story until recently, and that's not a
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: slight on them. It's that they didn't know about it,
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: not correctly, and that's because the legacy media was burying it.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: But now that the American public got a little taste, yeah,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: you better believe they're not happy with what they've seen,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: and they're certainly not happy with the way the Department
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: of Justice is handling it. With the passage and signing
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November twenty twenty five,
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: the Department of Justice was compelled to release the files
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: it had on Epstein within thirty days. The DOJ belatedly
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: released millions of documents about the late convicted sex offender.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: But it's been accused of not disclosing all of its files. Well,
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: they told us they had three million more, So what
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: do you mean accused? They told us they have three
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: million more, and we have to trust them that they're
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: not anything of note that they're protected under the law
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: that was passed. But the truth is, how do we know? Again,
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: how can we trust them? How can we trust anything
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: that the DOJ says, considering the song and dance on
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: a daily basis that we get from them. Blanche said
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: in a Fox News interview in early April that the
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: DOJ released all the files with respect to the Epstein
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: saga to the extent that the Epstein file was part
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: of the past year of this Justice Department. It should
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: not be part of anything going forward. Imagine leaving all
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: of this unresolved and then telling people that you want
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: to move forward, move forward for what where exactly are
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: we moving forward to, because until this is rectified, I
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: promise you we are not moving on. And you can
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: throw all of the tragedy, all of the distractions out
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: there that you want, it's not going to change the thing.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: This issue needs to be dealt with. And after your
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: little adventure in Iran, after you're done with whatever other
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: nonsense you're done with, the truth is going to be
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: right here waiting for you. And there is no outrunning it.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: And that goes for Todd Blanche, that goes for the DOJ,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: and that goes for everybody else that's actively covering this up.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: The Independent has reached out to the DOJ for comment
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: on the new lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that, under the
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: leadership of then Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche, the
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: DOJ has failed to produce the required documents within the
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: time required. It has improperly redacted documents and failed to
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: adequately explain those redactions, and it has either retracted or
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: failed to produce entirely documents that should have been produced.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: All of this violates the law, The lawsuit claimed, Well,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: what's incorrect about that? It does violate the law, doesn't
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: it and as much as Trump and as robber barons
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: want to think they're above the law, they are not.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: So I hope that Katie Fang and this lawsuit is successful.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: The Epstein Files Transparency Act allowed some redactions to protect
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: the identities of victims, but when the files were released,
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: news outlets reported that the DOJ included certain identifying information
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: of the victims and some of their nude photos. No
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: nude photos of Leon Black though huh or Less Wexner
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: or Glenn Dubin, only of the survivors. I know, just
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: another coincidence that happens to bounce in the favor of
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: the government. Blanche's failure to comply with the law has
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: harm Fang, who has extensively reported on Jeffrey Epstein and
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: does network. According to the lawsuit, well, how do I
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: get involved in this lawsuit too? Can I sign my
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: name on? Let's make it a class action. Fang's inability
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: to report with substance on all of the documents she
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: should be able to access, has hurt her ability to
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: do her job and made it harder to fulfill her
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: mission as a journalist and legal analyst, the lawsuit claims.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: The lawsuit seeks the production of all the Epstein files
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: covered by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, with impermissible redactions
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: removed and with permissible redactions adequately explained. You know, like
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: the law says, God forbid. Fang, a former ms NOW
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: anchor who currently works for the Midas Touch Network, said
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: in a video announcing the lawsuit. I rely on compliance
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: with the law for me to be able to process,
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: discern research, and do further investigation and to report to
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: you about what I have learned, discovered, read scene, heard
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: you name it, and look, she's not wrong, but I
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: don't think she's going to be successful. And again, I
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: think it's about precedent. I think the court's going to say,
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: you know what, let's hold off here and let's not
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: upset the apple cart. Now that might just be the
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: cynic in me speaking, but usually that's what you see
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: from these judges. But when there is an active concealment
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: going on, by the way, a violation of a federal statute,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: I cannot do my job as a journalist. Fang also
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: acknowledged her request within the lawsuit for a court appointed
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: special master to oversee Blanche compliance with the law. That's
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: still not far enough. I mean, it's a step in
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: the right direction, but it's not far enough. We need
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: a special counsel. The special Master would not be in
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: the DOJ. This special Master would not work for the
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: victims and survivors. This special Master would work pretty much
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: for the American people. Fang said, I'm on board, one
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: thousand percent on board, and I think it's a worthwhile pursuit,
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: and I hope that Katie Fang is successful. Separately, the
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: DOJ's internal watchdog announced last Thursday that it was starting
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: an audit of the agency's compliance with the Epstein Files
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Transparency Act. Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ's
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: process for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: as required by the Act, the DOJ's Office of the
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Inspector General said in a press release. And that's good too, right, great.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: I'm glad the OIG is finally getting off their ass
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: and looking into it. Do I have any confidence in
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: that investigation, none at all. So we'll see what goes
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: on with Katie Fang and with her lawsuit, and when
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: we have some more information, one way or the other
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: will get that added to the catalog. Until then, that's
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: going to do it for this one. All the information
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: that goes with this episode can be found in the
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: description box.