Todd Blanche Under Fire for Blocking Judge-Ordered Unredacted Epstein Drug Trafficking Files

A federal judge says Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has effectively admitted to breaking the law. The claim centres on a court order demanding the Justice Department release unredacted files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, including a long-buried memo on a drug trafficking and money laundering probe into the convicted sex offender.

Blanche has denied wrongdoing and defended his record before the Senate Judiciary Committee, even as a contempt motion and a Democratic senator's allegations pile pressure on his nomination to become permanent attorney general.

The Blocked Drug Trafficking Memo

The controversy traces back to a 2015 memorandum prepared by the Justice Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, a unit that coordinates complex drug and money laundering investigations across federal agencies. The heavily redacted memo, included among more than three million Epstein files released in January, reportedly shows Epstein was the subject of a Drug Enforcement Administration probe stretching at least five years.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has accused Blanche of blocking the release of an unredacted version of that memorandum. Blanche rejected the claim outright, writing on social media that 'a sitting US Senator has completely fabricated a story for clicks.'

A Judge Rules Against the Attorney General

The dispute escalated in June when US District Judge Emmet Sullivan found that Blanche 'has conceded that he is in violation' of the Epstein Files Transparency Act and ordered him to comply or 'show cause' by 2 July. The law, signed by President Trump in November 2025, required the production of covered documents and a redaction log by 19 December 2025.

Sullivan directed Blanche to strip redactions from files, including FBI interview notes concerning a woman who accused Trump of sexually abusing her as a teenager after Epstein allegedly introduced them, along with documents naming alleged co-conspirators. He also ordered the department to translate foreign-language Epstein documents and catalogue every redaction made.

Some withheld material was strikingly graphic. The judge separately ordered Blanche to unredact a series of emails in which senders' and recipients' names had been blacked out, including one telling Epstein, 'Thank you for a fun night... Your littlest girl was a little naughty,' and another in which Epstein wrote he 'loved the torture video.' Blanche's legal team argued the redactions were lawful.

A DOJ spokesperson rejected the judge's framing entirely, saying the ruling was 'suggesting DOJ violate the law by un-redacting victim names, who as the Department has always explained, sadly became co-conspirators.' Officials have separately described some withheld material as unverified, and the DOJ has previously called allegations against Trump himself 'unfounded and false.'

Contempt Motion Lands Days Before Confirmation

The standoff sharpened this month. A motion filed by independent journalist Katie Phang's legal team asked Judge Sullivan to hold Blanche in contempt for defying the June order, landing two days before his Senate confirmation hearing.

The filing accused Blanche of failing to unredact emails, release FBI interview notes, or publish the required redaction log, calling his conduct 'brazenness' fitting 'a pattern of dishonesty, delay, and obfuscation,' and asked the court to fine him £749 ($1,000) a day until he fully complies.

The department did not back down. A spokesperson told a news outlet that 'the Acting Attorney General has not conceded anything,' adding that 'Judge Sullivan's perverse interpretation appears to be focused on driving misleading headlines.'

Blanche Faces the Senate

Blanche carried the fight into his confirmation hearing on 15 July 2026, telling the Senate Judiciary Committee that though 'mistakes were made,' the Epstein document release was an exercise in unprecedented transparency. 'I want to make sure that the American people know that this administration, when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, has been more transparent than any administration,' he said.

He also argued the department had undertaken a 'herculean task' in reviewing its records for release, even as he faced criticism over redaction failures and documents withheld outright. Blanche additionally claimed the DOJ was legally barred from releasing the Epstein files without congressional authorisation, an argument courts have previously rejected.

Democrats were not persuaded. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois accused Blanche of 'corruption' in his opening statement, while Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island accused the department of widespread 'misconduct' and stonewalling lawmakers.

Blanche's nomination now hangs over an unresolved contempt motion, a missed court deadline and a senator's unretracted accusation, leaving the fight over Epstein's files far from settled.