The filing says they are still searching for records responsive to the Judicial Watch requests.
For sure people overreacted to the memo that was leaked to Axios, some even went turncoat IMO, but the filing in this FOIA case doesn't say anything at all about the status of any Epstein-related investigation(s).
The leaked memo, which is hosted on DOJ's website and was confirmed as authentic by @PressSec, does say something about the status of any Epstein-related investigation(s).
justice.gov/opa/media/1407…
@PressSec But... people don't like what it says, so many are either ignoring it, engaging in conspiracy gymnastics to try and keep their preferred Epstein-related theory alive, or going knives out for Bondi and Kash.
@PressSec I'm sympathetic to the middle group and disgusted by the latter.
@PressSec If/when responsive records are provided and if they contain redactions under Exemption 7, it may then be reasonable to speculate that ongoing Epstein-related investigations are active.
justice.gov/oip/foia-guide…
@PressSec But according to that memo…
@PressSec In their suit, Judicial Watch made four distinct requests:
A. The OIP-Bondi Request
B. The DOJ-Epstein Request
C. The FBI-Epstein Request
D. The FBI-Patel Request
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
@PressSec The Joint Status Report, filed July 7, says
A. The OIP-Bondi Request = Nothing found.
B. The DOJ-Epstein Request = Searches are ongoing.
C. The FBI-Epstein Request = Records found, review ongoing.
D. The FBI-Patel Request Search is ongoing.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
@PressSec The leaked memo indicates that B. and C. are unlikely to yield records to the public absent a long struggle (think Seth Rich FOIA case).
The status report says there's nothing stored on or in Bondi's desk.
So that leaves Patel's bureau. Ha.
The lack of disclosure is only a small part of why people are troubled by the Epstein issue.
What bothers them most are two factors: first, a sense of inadequate justice and accountability; and second, the friction between what they believe they know grating against what is so, what is evidenced as true.
These issues can be addressed, but even when disclosure is achieved, accountability enforced, and justice pursued to the fullest extent possible, some people will remain troubled.
A few will even get angrier or become despondent (as we have seen recently).
Because of what they know, that isn't so.
@PressSec What they know that isn't so ensures that no amount of disclosure, no measure of accountability, and no pursuit of justice will ever satisfy them.
That is the public-facing hard problem that Trump, Bondi, and Kash face re: Epstein and a number of other issues.
@PressSec And it provides fertile ground for malign influence operations to sow and rapidly cultivate seeds of division and mistrust.
Trust is the target.
Misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation mislead and misinform, leading people to adopt erroneous beliefs and flawed understandings.
When confronted with conflicting information—such as reality, evidence, or disclosures—individuals face a choice:
Adjust their beliefs, refine their understandings, or reject the facts before them.
In that turmoil, faith erodes, and trust degrades.
That is what victory manifests as in a cognitive war.
@PressSec In cognitive warfare, a person who has been substantially misinformed is not merely at risk of being mistaken or foolish—they are at risk of being weaponized.
innovationhub-act.org/wp-content/upl…
@PressSec YOU may not be interested in the CogWar/InfoWar, but IT is interested in YOU.
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