{"id":4705,"date":"2026-08-14T05:36:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705"},"modified":"2026-08-14T05:36:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T05:36:31","slug":"not-a-threat-its-a-promise-judge-says-hell-hold-doj-in-contempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705","title":{"rendered":"‘Not a threat \u2014 it’s a promise’: Judge says he’ll hold DOJ in contempt"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan told the Justice Department’s assistant U.S. attorneys in court on Thursday that he’s not afraid to hold them in contempt. <\/p>\n

Read more Iran is saving its most devastating attack for Trump\u2019s midterm: retired general<\/a><\/p>\n

The case involved whether the DOJ fully released all of the documents in the investigation for Jeffrey Epstein. <\/p>\n

The judge made it clear that he expected the DOJ to come prepared to answer all of his questions about what documents were withheld from publication and why. <\/p>\n

What was ultimately discovered is that the DOJ didn’t publish many of the handwritten notes from the interviews with witnesses and Epstein survivors. <\/p>\n

It did produce some of them; however, one former prosecutor pointed out on BlueSky. <\/p>\n

Sitting in court relaying what was unfolding, legal analyst Allison Gill posted on social media the exchanges capturing the final outcome. <\/p>\n

After a short break, the judge returned to the bench and explained, “The court is going to request a proposed order from the plaintiff for an in camera review of the handwritten notes.” <\/p>\n

He said he wants to know whether they are redundant. <\/p>\n

Lawyer Katie Phang has complained that the DOJ should be held in contempt for not following the court’s order to release all of the documents. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Imperiled\u2019 GOP senators beg Trump to zip it as midterms loom<\/a><\/p>\n

“Relax,” the judge responded. “No one is in contempt. I think now is a good opportunity to discuss that topic in general terms.”<\/p>\n

“Is ten days sufficient? Thank you. The pending motions will be resolved in due course,” the judge said.<\/p>\n

That said, the judge told a story that lasted about 30 minutes, “telling a story of the one time he had to hold DOJ lawyers in contempt. He says he’s done it before, and he’d rather not do it again, but he will if he needs to. <\/p>\n

The story was about Sen. Ted Stevens, a former Republican from Alaska. He said that he thought it would be a traditional trial. It was far from it, Gill relayed.<\/p>\n

“He was blowing the whistle loud and clear on the government. Individuals had concealed information that the government had an obligation to produce. It was alarming. About 33 or 34 documents, and everyone agreed that the defendant should have those I issued an order for the government to produce them. We had an interim hearing, and I said I assumed that the government had handed over the documents. Defense counsel, who had previously filed a motion to hold DOJ in contempt, said he hadn’t received anything,” the judge recalled.<\/p>\n

The judge said it was clear the DOJ hadn’t followed his orders. He told the lawyers that he had no choice but to hold them in contempt. He’s not afraid to do it again, he said. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump gets his MAGA-style teen \u2018Hunger Games\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” the judge said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The judge made it clear that he expected the DOJ to come prepared to answer all of his questions about what documents were withheld from publication and why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n'Not a threat \u2014 it's a promise': Judge says he'll hold DOJ in contempt - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Not a threat \u2014 it's a promise': Judge says he'll hold DOJ in contempt - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The judge made it clear that he expected the DOJ to come prepared to answer all of his questions about what documents were withheld from publication and why.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-14T05:36:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"‘Not a threat \u2014 it’s a promise’: Judge says he’ll hold DOJ in contempt\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T05:36:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705\",\"name\":\"'Not a threat \u2014 it's a promise': Judge says he'll hold DOJ in contempt - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T05:36:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4705#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"‘Not a threat \u2014 it’s a promise’: Judge says he’ll hold DOJ in contempt\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Not a threat \u2014 it's a promise': Judge says he'll hold DOJ in contempt - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Not a threat \u2014 it's a promise': Judge says he'll hold DOJ in contempt - Next Address America","og_description":"The judge made it clear that he expected the DOJ to come prepared to answer all of his questions about what documents were withheld from publication and why.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-08-14T05:36:31+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"‘Not a threat \u2014 it’s a promise’: Judge says he’ll hold DOJ in contempt","datePublished":"2026-08-14T05:36:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705"},"wordCount":510,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705","name":"'Not a threat \u2014 it's a promise': Judge says he'll hold DOJ in contempt - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-14T05:36:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b608d14b3f5bdf58bb0830188dc464e5.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4705#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"‘Not a threat \u2014 it’s a promise’: Judge says he’ll hold DOJ in contempt"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}