Michael Popak (2:00)
We got some breaking Epstein file news. If the Department of Justice and its ethical conflicts and its corruption are not going to do the job to produce all of the Epstein files, then get out of the way and let the survivors and their leaders like Lisa Phillips do the job for you. We now have a new filing by Lisa Phillips, a survivor, a victim of the Epstein child sex trafficking ring who's filed a new declaration in federal court imploring Federal Judge Paul Engelmeier to take the Department of Justice out of the process and to appoint a special officer of the court, an independent monitor, a special master, to take over the continued production of the Epstein files. And when I say continued production, that phrase is doing a heavy lift. I mean, we are a month and a half out from the deadline, which means we are almost two months out from the actual law being signed, and yet there's only 125,000 pages out of 3 to 5 million total. I mean, I didn't major in math, but I know that's an anemic percentage. Now, Lisa Phillips has filed her declaration, an invitation, I would suggest, that came from Judge Engelmeier himself. And there's an involvement. I have my involvement. And of course, we support all sorts of sex abuse victims and survivors on Legal AF and on the Midas Touch Network on Michael Popak. My law firm filed that declaration on behalf of Lisa Phillips with the court. You're on Legal F and the Midas Touch Network. Let's get to the new reporting. How did we get here? Well, Representatives Massie and Khanna, that bipartisan dynamic duo who, who led the charge, starting with collecting the 218 votes, ended up being 434 votes from the House to support the Epstein files being ordered to be turned over by the executive branch. Let me make this clear. The executive branch and its Department of Justice and FBI and other agencies always had its own sole ability, without court oversight, without judicial oversight, to release the files to the American public. Let me repeat that. They never needed court approval. They never needed legislative approval. It's always been in the executive branch. In fact, you would see them, the Department of Justice, arguing in other cases, separation of powers. This is a presidential power. These are our agencies. These are our executive heads. We get to fire them. Even if Congress created them. Now they're saying, well, we would love to produce everything, but we need federal judges and we need congressional approval. They never needed that at all. But if we're going to play that game, you know, don't blame the player, blame the game. We're going to play the game, they're going to play it right. So Congress did its part through Massie and Khanna, and the federal courts got involved not because the survivors ran there initially, but the Trump Department of Justice ran there. They run, they ran a Judge Engelmeier, Judge Berman, Judge King, Judge Rosenberg and said, well, we'd love to produce the Epstein files, but you know, what about the grand jury material what about your cases? You know, we need to have it all. Have it all. They've had it all for over a year. They're just now getting around to 500 attorneys working round the clock in order to produce the documents. Nobody believes that, certainly not Judge Engelmeier. So. So Ro Khanna, Representative Khanna and Massey, they sent in a letter on the 13th, and they said in their letter to Judge Engelmeier that he should use his inherent authority as a judge to oversee the production and take the Department of Justice out of the mix and appoint a special master, independent monitor, federal judge to take over the process. They say on page three of their. Of their letter, simply put put simply, the Department of Justice can't be trusted with making mandatory disclosures under the act, that they keep changing the numbers. Is it 1 million? Is it 3.2 million? Is it 5 million? What is the number of documents? And that's why they said they got to be taken out of the mix. Now to the complaining that happened after that, that, that filing. You heard the Department of Justice say, oh, they shouldn't be allowed into this case under Friends of the Court to argue about relief or remedies. Judge, your. Your relief and remedies are limited. And there shouldn't be an independent master or a special monitor or anything like that. I think I got it backwards. It shouldn't be an independent monitor or special master or anything like that. Uh, we're producing as fast can, even though we're a month and a half late, and they have no right to be in this case, and you have no remedy or powers to order us to do anything. And I beg to differ, because it's the Trump administration and DOJ that ran to federal judges over the summer and ran to them again two months ago to demand and beg for their involvement once in. Federal judges have the power to supervise activities and events and processes that. That are in front of them. Who gave them that power? Who gave them that jurisdiction? I suggest the Department of Justice and Donald Trump gave it to them. And I think they waived any argument that now that because they don't like where Judge Engelmeier is going with remedy. Oh, Judge, what are you doing? We only wanted you for a limited purpose. That's not how federal court works. That's not how inherent authority works.
