He has ordered Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department until September 24 to provide the disputed records related to convicted sex offender Epstein, or explain why his orders were not “clear and unambiguous.”
“Defendant cites no authority for the proposition that administrative inconvenience excuses him from meeting his statutory obligation,” Sullivan wrote in his opinion. “Nor does he cite any authority for his apparent contention that Congressional silence in response to the January 30, 2026 letter functions as an implied amendment to the EFTA.”
Sullivan wrote that a civil contempt finding against Blanche at this stage “would be premature” as such an order requires the defendant to have violated a “clear and unambiguous” order. Therefore, he gave the attorney general until September 21 to seek clarification with the court if any of the order was unclear.
12 Comments
funkreddit@lemmy.zip · 27 pts · 5d
And then what? Give em another warning????
Makhno@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 5d
With stronger wording. That'll show them
collapse_already@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 5d
Well, if it was you or me, he could send a federal marshall to arrest us and throw us in the klink. We would be there in at least a night before we could even have our excuses heard by an appellate court. I don't know if he has the balls or the ballsy federal marshall to arrest the AG, but I am not going to hold my breath. If he did do it, I would be in the awkward situation of admiring a Reagan appointee.
atzanteol@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 5d
Contempt
Asafum@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 5d
"If you don't do it this time, or create another excuse, you better be careful or I'll wag my finger at you again! You wouldn't like that now would you? You better do what we ask or we'll be compelled to do nothing!"
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 5d
I don't know what it entails if he is found in contempt by the judge, but this is just one step before that.
Triumph@fedia.io · 10 pts · 5d
Civil contempt is a fine. If the punishment is a fine, it's only illegal for poor people.
Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io · 5 pts · 5d
My search yielded: "The penalty for civil contempt can include fines, compensatory damages, or even imprisonment until compliance with a court order is achieved. The specific consequences depend on the nature of the contempt and the court's discretion."
So it depends. Let's see what Sullivan's next step is, as I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that Blanche will not comply by 9/24. The wheels of Justice grind exceedingly slow. Which paraphrase sent me on a search for the origin. As it turns it's not a new concept. Plutarch 1st Century CE "Thus, I do not see what use there is in those mills of the gods said to grind so late as to render punishment hard to be recognized, and to make wickedness fearless."
desiccated_event@piefed.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 5d
Perhaps a strongly worded letter?
DementedSociety@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 5d
What an absolute fucking joke. This has made plain as day how absolutely corrupt the entire system is from top to bottom. If these people dont have to follow the rules, why should any of us?
Postimo@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 5d
We have consequences when we don't.
DementedSociety@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 5d
Oh yeah. I'm not a rich pedo.