Trump Stunned as Congress Runs to Court Over Epstein Files

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2:21Michael Popok:Millions of unproduced Epstein documents, Department of Justice trying to cover up their cover up, meet a federal special master appointed by a federal judge as an officer of the court to get to the bottom of the incredible shape-shifting quantity of Epstein documents. First it was, we have them all and we'll be producing them on the 19th. that it was, oh wait, Midas Touch found a million documents related to the Maxwell prosecution. We better look at those too. Then right before Christmas, Todd Blanche lets it slip that there's 5.2 million documents, which is about 50 million pages that they haven't looked at.

3:04Michael Popok:We're like 5.2 million. It's probably double that. Then all of a sudden, and this caught the eye of Representative Ro Khanna and Tom Massey, that bipartisan super duo who have led the charge and are the sponsors of the Epstein Transparency Act bill. It caught their eye the way it did us on Midas Dutch and Legal AF because there was a letter that was filed by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Southern District of New York, to Judge Paul Engelmeyer. That's one of the several judges that the Trump administration ran to to try to use the federal judiciary. Yes, use the federal judiciary as cover to blame the judiciary for the slow production of documents.

3:48Michael Popok:So Engelmeyer, Judge Engelmeyer, if you don't want to be used, then I would take up Representative Mo Khanna, sorry, Ro Khanna and Representative Tom Massey up on their proposal, which they sent in a new letter to the judge, appoint a special master. I'm Michael Popok to break it all down for you here on the Midas Touch Network and for Legal AF. Judge Engelmeyer is the judge that presides over all things Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Berman is the judge in New York that presides over all things Jeffrey Epstein. And then there's judges in Florida that preside over matters down there. They ran to judge, DOJ, DOJ ran to Judge Engelmeyer a couple of times, including recently, begging them, begging the judge to let them produce Maxwell-related documents that were undercover, covered by secrecy, grand jury materials and the like, to reproduce them as part of the Epstein Transparency Act requirements.

4:48Michael Popok:Yet even with the judge allowing it, December 19th, as the deadline, came and went with just 12 ,000 documents, maybe 120 ,000 pages out of millions have been produced. They're already three weeks past the deadline. So Engelmeyer said, you better update me by the 5th of January about what's going on with your redactions and victim and survivor protection mechanisms. What are you doing? All of a sudden, as Representative Massey and Kana saw. We all caught this weird thing on page two of the letter signed by Jay Clayton, the acting U.S. attorney for New York. There are, top of page two, there are more than two million documents potentially responsive in various phases of review.

5:45Michael Popok:Two million. So right around the time of the deadline and around the holidays, Todd Blanche, the number two in the Department of Justice, and Donald Trump's continued criminal defense lawyer, he said it was 5.2 million. Now it's 2 million. Well, which is it, man? Is it 2 million or 5.2 million? That's a big miss. So Representative Massey and Conniss said last week they were going to intervene in this matter at the court system, and now they have with a new letter that is sent on their letterhead to the judge, Judge Engelmeyer. And here's what it says. It's effectively saying you can't trust the Department of Justice, especially with the shape-shifting on the number.

6:32Michael Popok:How does 5.2 become 2 million? What happened to the other 3.2 million? And to the representatives, they're saying that just shows they're trying to convince the American people that they're being transparent and sending in lots of documents. They're not. They're not. They're pumping up the number or they've lost 3.2 million. So what they say is, this is on page two of their letter, after saying that only 12 ,285 documents have been produced, the DOJ claims that there are still more than, quote, 2 million documents potentially responsive. But other reports suggest that the DOJ may be reviewing more than 5 million pages.

7:16Michael Popok:or maybe 50 million pages. Because these figures are self-reported and internally inconsistent with prior representations, there is reasonable suspicion that the DOJ has overstated the scope of responsive material. The conduct by the DOJ is not only flagrant, but as this court has recognized, the behavior by the DOJ has caused serious harm to the survivors. Put simply, Congressperson Kana and Massey Wright, The DOJ cannot be trusted with making mandatory disclosures under this act. And now they're demanding that and they want to have a briefing schedule and a hearing about a special master or independent monitor to be put over this process.

7:59Michael Popok:It's usually a former federal judge who is appointed an officer of the court and reports back to the judge on process. Costs a lot of money. The government will have to pay. For instance, Barbara Jones, former federal judge, she's made a whole living out of being a special master or a monitor. She's been a monitor or special master for the Rudy Giuliani documents when he was search warrant was used to obtain all of his materials several years ago during the Jack Smith and other investigations. She's also the monitor over the Trump organization currently. So former federal judges, senior status and otherwise, they like taking on these assignments.

8:39Michael Popok:And that's what I think Engelmeyer is going to do. There's enough here. All they had to do is drop a footnote in their letter to the judge and explain themselves. Where did the other 3.2 million go? But instead, they left the door wide open for Representative Kana and Massey. Here's a clip of them talking about these issues. Let's play the clip. What are you going to do about it to force them to comply? I mean, can you do anything? Oh, absolutely. Look, people have talked about, And by the way, Todd Blanche is the face of this, but it's really the attorney general's office, Pam Bondi, who is responsible.

9:15And there are several ways to get at this. Some take longer, some are shorter. The quickest way, and I think the most expeditious way to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi. And that doesn't require going through the courts. and give her and basically Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now. OK, well, I mean, on another network this morning, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said impeachment or contempt. It is premature, Congressman Khanna. And the deputy attorney general said, bring it on. They don't seem to be taking this very seriously.

9:54And if you just don't have the math in the Senate, including at least now this Democratic senator not being convinced, doesn't that sort of show that you're at the limit of pressure? No, we only need the House for inherent contempt and we're building a bipartisan coalition and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she's not releasing these documents. I'll tell you why I've talked to the survivors, why this is such a slap in the face. One of the survivors said they released her name accidentally, but they still have not released the FBI file about the people who abused her at her request. And the problem here is that there are rich and powerful people.

10:31We all know this. There are twelve hundred victims. They're rich and powerful people who either engaged in this abuse, covered it up or were on this island. And what the American people want to know is who are these people? And instead of holding them accountable, Pam Bondi is breaking the law. And this is the corrupt system, the Epstein class that people are sick of. So I believe we're going to get bipartisan support in holding her accountable. And a committee of Congress should determine whether these redactions are justified or not.

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11:43Michael Popok:And it's easy. You just scoop and serve. No freezer, no thawing, no prep, no mess. Even if you don't have a dog of your own, you know one who deserves more health, more energy, a softer coat, fewer allergens, and more happy years. Make the switch to Sundays. Go right now to Sundays for dogs.com slash legal AF30 and get 30 % off your first three orders, or you can use code legal AF30 at checkout. That's 30 % off your first three orders at Sundays for dogs.com slash legal AF30 Sundays for dogs.com slash legal AF30 or use code Legal AF30 at checkout. So if I know Judge Engelmeyer, and I've appeared in front of him before, what I think is going to happen is he's going to set a briefing schedule.

12:30Michael Popok:He's going to want to hear from the Department of Justice. He's going to maybe call a conference together, a phone conference, and then he's going to make a decision. And if he goes the way I think he should, by taking this out of the hands of the Department of Justice, who can't be trusted. And by the way, this process, the DOJ and Trump have no one to blame but themselves. They ran to federal court to try to use judges to give them cover. And now, smartly, Congress people are running to the judge to say, you're an officer of the court. You need to protect the victims, the survivors, make sure the law is being complied with.

13:05Michael Popok:Don't trust the Department of Justice with their numbers because they can't be trusted on these self-reported numbers. and set up a process led by an independent monitor or special master. I've dealt with cases before of a special master. They're very valuable. They're very expensive. In cases like this, they are perfect. I think that's what Engelmeyer does, and we'll continue to report back on it here on Midas Touch and on Legal AF. We're growing because we got to meet the moment in 2026. Come over to Legal AF, the YouTube channel, where we now have paid membership possibilities for people. That helps contribute to our growth, bringing on new contributors, new international contributors, new global ones.

13:48Michael Popok:We've got the American Civil Liberties Union that's going to be bringing all of their work to us on Legal AF starting this week. We also have two new podcasts, Legal AF Produced Podcast, that just hit Spotify and Apple. Unprecedented with me and Dean Adal. Dean Adal and me talk about the U.S. Supreme Court on a weekly basis. Got a big decision coming out tomorrow. Maybe tariffs. You'll want to know about it on Unprecedented. And then, of course, Court of History, new podcast with Sean Wilentz and Cindy Blumenthal. Thanks for being here. Become a paid member of Legal AF Substack, paid member of Legal AF YouTube channel.

14:28Michael Popok:Until my next report, I am Michael Popak. Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither. That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack. Every time we mention something in a hot take, whether it's a court filing or a oral argument, come over to the Substack. You'll find the court filing and the oral argument there, including a daily roundup that I do call, wait for it, Morning AF. What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well. We got some new reporting. We got interviews. We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Where? Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

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