I Am Suing the Department of Justice for the Epstein Files Training Videos

On July 20th, I was the first to report the existence of training videos instructing FBI personnel how to flag mentions of Trump and others in the Epstein files. Today, I'm suing for those videos.

If you’ve been following my reporting, you’ll recall that on July 20th, I wrote the following:

Regarding the ever-changing nature of the instructions, which one source described as “full panic mode,” there were at least four different review instructions. Keeping in mind that the Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS) are trained in FOIA redactions but many in the IMD are not, there were multiple video training sessions that went out on an unclassified network on what to mark for redaction, what not to mark, and how to record things that needed to be flagged. That means that video exists of trainers explaining the process of flagging instances of Donald Trump appearing in the files, and those videos went out on unclassified networks within the bureau. It’s also of note that the trainers toward the end were folks from the Department of Justice, and not the FBI.

Two days later, after additional sources reached out to me, I published the following exclusive story here on The Breakdown:

Two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the existence of training videos instructing personnel on the process of tagging mentions of Trump, and that the videos were actually embedded in a PowerPoint deck (or decks) that lived on the shared drive. Several others confirmed the existence of the excel spreadsheet containing the document number and page number in the Epstein files where Donald Trump’s name appears.

The same day, Kel McClanahan of National Security Counselors filed a Freedom of Information Act request on my behalf for “all videos stored on Sharepoint (on the unclassified side) or Sharepoint or BuTube (on the classified side) which were created or used to train FBI personnel in how to review records about Jeffrey Epstein.”

In that filing, I also requested expedited processing of this request, classification as a representative of the news media, and a public interest fee waiver, stating, “The ongoing story of how FBI and DOJ reviewed the Epstein records is one of the most newsworthy and fast developing topics in the news today. MSW Media has a pressing need to report on these videos and shed light on FBI’s role in this matter, which raises significant questions of government misconduct.”

Under law, the FBI had 10 days from that filing to respond to my request for expedited processing. They have not, which gives me the right to sue them.

Here’s what I’m asking the court to do:

1. Order the Office of Information Policy and Federal Bureau of Investigation to expeditiously process its requests;

2. Order preliminary and permanent injunctive and/or declaratory relief as may be appropriate;

3. Award reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees as provided in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(E), 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d), or any other applicable law;

4. Expedite this action in every way pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1657(a); and

5. Grant such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

I want to thank National Security Counselors for assisting me. To date, National Security Counselors has:

1. Sued DOGE on my behalf after they failed to respond to my Freedom of Information Act request for emails relating to mass firings of federal workers,

2. Filed two motions to intervene in Trump’s request for the Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury materials in New York, demanding that ONLY the survivors’ names and personally identifiable information be redacted. Both judges responded that they will take my requests under advisement.

3. Filed a separate FOIA request with the Department of Justice for all Epstein Grand Jury materials (with only the survivors’ names and personally identifiable information redacted) which will become part of this lawsuit to get the training videos once the judge rules on my request for expedited processing.

You can read the full lawsuit here.

I want to mention here that Kel McClanahan and National Security Counselors are doing all of this work on my behalf pro bono - but there are always associated costs and person-hours put into it. You can help support the work by donating directly to National Security Counselors - and your donation is tax deductible! So if you’ve been wondering how you can help fight the predators trying to keep the Epstein files under lock and key, any donation you have the means to make is a great way to fight back.

You can donate at https://www.nationalsecuritylaw.org/donate

Just click on PayPal, or if you’d prefer not to use PayPal, click on “democracy engine” for other options.