EXCLUSIVE: Trump DOJ Moves to Kill Epstein Files Lawsuit — as Feds Fight Demand for Unredacted Names, FBI Interview Notes and Secret Records
President Donald Trump's Justice Department is fighting to end a lawsuit seeking further disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein records.
Oct. 6 2026, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
The Trump administration is attempting to shut down a high-stakes lawsuit seeking further disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein records, as the Justice Department simultaneously turns over sensitive materials to a federal judge for secret review, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The latest development in journalist Katie Phang's federal court battle against Attorney General Todd Blanche over the government's handling of records connected to the disgraced financier.
DOJ Turns Over Secret Records
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, the Justice Department has asked U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan to resolve the lawsuit in the government's favor while challenging efforts to force additional disclosures.
The legal maneuver comes as newly filed documents reveal federal officials have already delivered a collection of unredacted Epstein-related materials directly to Sullivan's chambers for an in-camera review, meaning they can be examined privately by the judge rather than released publicly.
DOJ disclosed the documents were hand-delivered to the court on September 24 at 10:43 a.m. The government filed a formal notice on October 5 confirming its compliance with Sullivan's order.
Unredacted FBI Notes Revealed
Attorney General Todd Blanche is named as the defendant in the lawsuit.
Among the materials are unredacted handwritten notes underlying FBI FD-302 reports, along with unredacted versions of the corresponding typewritten reports. The government told Sullivan the handwritten records are duplicative of typed reports already available in the Epstein Library.
The submission also includes email exchanges from attorneys in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York dating back to 2021 and describing efforts to collect records. DOJ also provided Sullivan with its justification for concealing certain names and email addresses contained in three sets of Epstein records.
Federal lawyers said the information was redacted as victim-identifying information based on representations from attorneys for victims that the names and addresses did, in fact, identify victims.
Battle Over Hidden Names
The Epstein records battle is playing out in federal court.
The latest filing marks another development in the intensifying legal fight over how much of the government's Epstein material should remain hidden from public view.
As Radar previously reported, a separate litigation is seeking expedited access to Epstein records potentially referencing President Donald Trump and his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In the Phang case, DOJ has separately moved for judgment on the pleadings, seeking to end the lawsuit before it proceeds further.
DOJ Wants Case Ended
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Trump has previously been named in Epstein-related records.
The dispute centers on Phang's effort to challenge the government's handling of Epstein records and obtain greater transparency surrounding the material being withheld or redacted.
But even as federal attorneys attempt to defeat her lawsuit, Sullivan now has access to material the public cannot see — including the unredacted FBI interview documentation and evidence supporting some of the government's decisions to conceal identities.
The October 5 filing does not state that Trump's name appears in the specific documents delivered to Sullivan.
However, the latest development pushes the wider court battle over the government's Epstein files forward, with a federal judge now personally examining some of the records behind closed doors.
