Department of Justice Oversight

Sen. Ron Wyden, D‑Ore., is accusing Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of preventing the Drug Enforcement Administration from giving him an unredacted 2015 task‑force memo on a secret, years‑long Epstein drug‑trafficking and prostitution investigation, escalating an ongoing fight over access to federal 'Epstein files.' Wyden says Senate Finance Committee staff were told DEA stood ready to comply until Blanche intervened in recent weeks, while Blanche publicly counters that Wyden is 'fabricating' the story and that the full memo is available to members of Congress in a DOJ reading room that Wyden has not visited. The 69‑page OCDETF fusion‑center report, released to the public only in heavily blacked‑out form in January, shows Epstein and 14 unnamed associates were targeted over wire transfers tied to MDMA and other 'club drugs' and alleged narcotics‑linked prostitution activity in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City, a probe law‑enforcement sources say was significant and ran for at least five years. CBS reports that current FOIA requests for more detail have been denied on grounds that releasing the memo could interfere with enforcement proceedings or expose informants, suggesting aspects of the case may still be active or touch other targets. The clash sharpens questions about how extensively federal agencies investigated Epstein beyond sex‑trafficking charges, why a serious DEA case was unknown to later SDNY prosecutors, and whether DOJ is using secrecy to shield ongoing operations or to limit political damage over past inaction.