Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump DOJ's Bid to Halt Epstein Files Review, Says Government Failed to Justify the Delay

A federal appeals court on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, rejected the US Justice Department's bid to halt a court-ordered review of foreign-language records in the Jeffrey Epstein files, ruling that the government had failed to show the irreparable harm needed to justify putting the work on hold.

The unsigned order from Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Circuit Judges Cornelia Pillard and Florence Pan of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit clears the way for a review first ordered in June.

It came in a lawsuit in which journalist Katie Phang accuses Attorney General Todd Blanche of breaching the Epstein Files Transparency Act through improper redactions, a missing redaction log, and withheld records.

'The government has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending appeal,' the panel wrote. 'In particular, the government has failed to show that it is irreparably harmed by merely initiating review of foreign-language documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.'

Judges Say Epstein Files Release Is Not Imminent

The panel also rejected the concern that records could reach the public too soon. 'To the extent the government objects to producing documents before the merits of the case are resolved, production does not appear to be imminent,' the judges wrote.

Citing Phang's brief, the judges said the department would release only documents it 'concludes must be disclosed by law.' Anything it wants withheld would return to court first, and disclosure possible only after further litigation 'does not constitute irreparable harm.'

The department is appealing two rulings by US District Judge Emmet Sullivan: his 25 June preliminary injunction and a 16 September order enforcing it. Phang has asked the court to dismiss the second appeal, arguing that the September order created no new obligation. The panel left that motion to the judges who will decide the merits.

How the Epstein Files Fight Reached the Appeals Court

President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025, giving the department 30 days to publish its Epstein records. By 30 January, it had released about 3.5 million pages, and Blanche, then deputy attorney general, said its review was over.

That month, the department told Congress it had not reviewed foreign-language documents because it was not practicable for first-level reviewers to judge whether they were covered. The department has given no count, but survivors and advocacy organisations have told Ms. Magazine the material runs to hundreds of thousands of documents.

Phang, a former MSNBC host, sued on 27 April. Sullivan's injunction ordered the review to begin by 2 July. When that deadline passed, Phang asked him to hold Blanche in contempt.

On 16 September, Sullivan called contempt premature but rejected the department's reasoning. Blanche 'cites no authority for the proposition that administrative inconvenience excuses him from meeting his statutory obligations,' he wrote. He set a new deadline of 24 September.

Sullivan Refused to Pause His Own Order

The department asked for a partial stay at 8:45 p.m. on Friday 18 September. Sullivan denied it on 21 September because the department had not first consulted Phang's lawyers as local rules require, adding that he would have refused on the merits anyway. He paused the deadline so the department could go to the appeals court, which it did a day later.

There, the department argued that Phang had no right to sue because 'Congress chose not to include a private right of action' in the law, and warned that the orders 'will irreversibly alter the status quo, harm the Department, and potentially moot this appeal.'

Phang's lawyers countered that a stay could delay the start of the review until more than a year after the law's deadline, leaving the material 'stale' for her reporting. As of 25 September, Phang said, not one foreign-language document had been publicly produced.

What Happens Next

Under Sullivan's 21 September order, both sides must file a joint notice recommending next steps within three days of the appeals court's decision. The ruling does not order any records released, and the department can still contest redactions or withholdings before anything becomes public.

In June, after Sullivan granted the injunction, a Justice Department spokesperson said: 'DOJ has produced all responsive documents and will appeal this decision with confidence.' Blanche, who has run the department since April, was confirmed as attorney general on 8 August.