WASHINGTON, July 4 -- When a federal judge gave the Justice Department until July 2 to uncover the names of people whose identities remain hidden in the Epstein files, the clock ran down to the final hours. The department chose not to comply.

Instead, the DOJ filed a defense of its redactions, asked for a 60-day delay, and announced plans to appeal, leaving at least eight sets of email records still blacked out, a draft criminal indictment with co-conspirators' names obscured, and a 2007 email chain discussing a "torture video" with its recipient's identity concealed. Whether those names will ever see daylight now rests with a higher court.

The case began with a lawsuit by journalist and legal analyst Katie Phang, who argued that the de...