New York — Judge honors Ghislaine Maxwell criminal case He said on Wednesday that two members of Congress lacked the legal right to intervene and press their request for a court-appointed monitor to ensure government compliance with the new law order. Release her files on Jeffrey Epstein.
But lawmakers are free to file a civil suit or work through tools they have in Congress to improve oversight. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer.
U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in November. He called for public disclosure of the relevant files Sex trafficking investigations To Epstein, the late financier, and Maxwell, his longtime confidant.
Engelmayer has largely agreed with the Justice Department’s insistence that it does not have the authority to approve members of Congress’ request to speed up the release of those materials. They urged Engelmayer to appoint an independent monitor to ensure the government immediately releases more than two million documents it has identified as investigative material. Khanna and Massey said the slow release of documents violated the law and had caused it “Serious trauma for survivors.”
A month after the deadline for publishing the materials passed, only about 12,000 documents had been published. The ministry said the release of the files was delayed due to redactions required to protect the identities of those who were abused.
Engelmayer said the questions raised by Khanna and Massey about whether the department was adhering to the law were “undoubtedly important and timely.” But he said the way members of Congress are trying to interfere is not permissible.
The judge, who inherited Maxwell’s case after the trial judge was appointed to the appeals court, ruled that he had no authority to oversee the department’s compliance with the new law, and that Massey and Khanna had no standing or legal right to infiltrate Maxwell’s case.
Engelmayer said he has received letters and emails from survivors of Epstein’s abuse in support of lawmakers’ request to appoint a neutral supervisor.
“They express concern that the Department of Justice would not otherwise adhere to the law,” wrote the judge, nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.
The administration “talks down to the victims” and “fails to treat us” with the care we deserve, survivors wrote, according to Engelmeyer.
Serves Maxwell A The prison sentence is 20 years After being convicted in December 2021 of sex trafficking. She recently filed a petition in federal court for her release, asserting that new information has emerged that justifies her release. The jury found that she helped recruit girls for Epstein’s abuse over the past quarter-century and also participated in some of the abuse.
Epstein died in a federal prison in New York in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide.