WASHINGTON, July 2 -- The Epstein Files Transparency Act sailed through Congress 427 to 1. On Thursday, the Justice Department chose a different path.

With the compliance deadline set by a federal judge expiring today, the Trump administration announced it would appeal rather than release a set of Epstein-related documents that a court found had been improperly redacted. The decision sets up a direct confrontation between U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who found the department likely in violation of its own law, and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has declined to defend the department's redaction decisions in court.

"The government ignored a law passed by Congress and then refused to defend its own conduct in court, all f...