This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.

I'm your host, Greg Sargent.

The Epstein scandal has just taken another bad turn for Donald Trump.

NPR reports that the Justice Department has withheld some files relating to charges that Trump potentially abused a minor. And Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia just dropped a bombshell as well,

claiming that he'd reviewed DOJ materials personally and can confirm that DOJ does appear to have

withheld critical FBI interviews. What's really noteworthy here is that we now see

the cover-up becoming a significant part of the story in a freshly vivid way. And interestingly,

Trump's constant treatment of DOJ as his own personal law firm could now work against him,

since DOJ controls what we learn about what's in the files.

To unravel all this, we're talking today to University of Michigan law professor Leah Littman,

who's great at decoding this kind of complexity.

Leah, great to have you on.

Thanks for having me.

So let's just set the table this way.

The Epstein files, of course, are the materials amassed

via federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein's pedophilia and sex trafficking. Leah, can you just

walk us through what exactly the law obliges DOJ to do with regard to these files right now?

So the law obliges DOJ to actually release the files.

They are supposed to redact information, particularly the victim's names, but they are not

supposed to be redacting information about the alleged wrongdoers.

Now, of course, these files contain reports that aren't credible. Law enforcement

officials receive tips that aren't credible all the time. What makes this latest revelation,

...