A new episode of the Insider podcast is now out.
This week, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by lawyer and independent journalist Katie Phang. They discuss Phang’s lawsuit against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, which seeks to force the Justice Department to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Then, Joyce and Katie discuss the fallout from President Trump’s speech about alleged fraud in the 2020 election and Katie’s approach to journalism in the Trump era.
A NOTE FROM THE PRODUCER
Jake Kaplan is the Supervising Producer of the Stay Tuned with Preet and Insider podcasts.
On a new episode of the Insider podcast, Preet Bharara and Joyce Vance are joined by legal analyst Katie Phang to discuss her lawsuit against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. The case seeks to force DOJ to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law requiring the release of records related to Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit recently cleared a major hurdle after a federal judge granted Phang’s motion for a preliminary injunction, ordering DOJ to release the records or explain why it cannot.
On the podcast, Phang explains how she convinced the judge that she had standing to bring the lawsuit, arguing that DOJ’s refusal to release the records has prevented her from reporting on a matter of enormous public interest. As she puts it: “[T]he Epstein Files Transparency Act…create[s] this obligation for a federal agency to…produce documents for people like me to be able to read and to be able to report upon. And based upon these illegal redactions and withholdings, I am unable to do my job.”
Phang also argues that the Justice Department can’t simultaneously claim it’s complying with the law while refusing to release records in the name of protecting victims: “Blanche wants to use the victims as a sword and a shield. He wants to say, ‘I am here to protect the victims, and that’s why I can’t comply with what Katie Phang is asking me to do. But, by the way, I’m complying with what Katie Phang is asking me to do because I have been protecting the victims.’ When in reality, he just gave sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee stating, ‘I didn’t comply.’”
Listen to the episode and comment below with your thoughts and questions. Thank you for being a member of our community here on Substack. If you’re not yet a paying subscriber, you can now listen to a free excerpt from the show. For access to the full analysis, upgrade your subscription.
Stay Informed,
Jake
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