A US judge has threatened to hold Trump administration lawyers in contempt over their failure to release documents from the Epstein files about Donald Trump.

Judge Emmet Sullivan expressed his frustration at the Department of Justice stonewalling the release of the files.

“The public has a right to know what the hell is going on in this case,” Sullivan said.

“The victims have a right to know. The court has a right to know.”

Sullivan then described how he had filed similar contempt charges against lawyers in a prior case.

He noted a contempt charge would be a black mark that would hurt a lawyer for the rest of their career.