President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, has reportedly been sued over his alleged failure and violations of law regarding the Epstein files. On various occasions, Trump has criticized media outlets and has even filed defamation suits against many of them.
However, this time the sides in the case appear to have changed, as media outlets and media figures are reportedly striking back against the Trump administration.
According to The Independent, journalist and legal analyst Katie Phang sued the acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, for allegedly failing to comply with a landmark transparency law requiring the release of Epstein files. A lawsuit was filed on Monday in federal court in Washington, DC.
“This case is about Defendant Todd Blanche’s brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” the lawsuit filed by the journalist states.
Rock star journalist @KatiePhang is suing Attorney General Todd Blanch and the DOJ for violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act!https://t.co/nyYT1VcTkx
— Ellie Leonard🇺🇦 (@RedPencilScript) April 27, 2026
The lawsuit alleges that under the leadership of the then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche, the Department of Justice failed to produce the required documents within the specified time. “It has improperly redacted documents and failed to adequately explain those redactions.” The lawsuit further stated that it has either redacted or failed to produce documents entirely that should have been produced. “All of this facially violates the law,” the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit asserts that Blanche’s failure to produce the documents has harmed Phang and her network, who “extensively reported” on the case. According to the report, they demand that all the Epstein files covered by the Epstein Files Transparency Act be released “with impermissible redactions removed, and with permissible redactions adequately explained.”
FOX NEWS: You have the authority to go ahead and release more Epstein files, do you not?
ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE: No. We have released everything. We are not sitting on a single piece of paper. If we didn’t release it, it’s because it was not responsive to the law. pic.twitter.com/i9dnICXNh9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2026
The former MS Now anchor also released a video announcing the move. She said, “I rely on compliance with the law for me to be able to process, discern, research, and do further investigation, and to report to you about what I have learned, discovered, read, seen, heard—you name it.” “But when there is active concealment going on by way of violation of a federal statute, I cannot do my job as a journalist. And so I’m suing,” she further added.
Katie Phang announces she is suing the Trump administration over the Epstein files:
I rely on compliance with the law for me to be able to process, discern, research, and do further investigation, and to report to you about what I have learned, discovered, read, seen, heard—you… pic.twitter.com/0ROOIkYxbK
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 27, 2026
The report notes that Phang said her lawsuit includes a request for a court-appointed special master to oversee Blanche’s compliance with the law, adding that the role would be independent and act in the public interest rather than for the Department of Justice or the victims.
Meanwhile, in an official statement released, the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General announced it was launching an audit of the agency’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. “Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act,” the statement said.
During a Fox News interview in early April, Blanche claimed that all the files were released in the Epstein case. “To the extent the Epstein files were a part of the past year of this justice department, it should not be a part of anything going forward,” he had said.
