Judge blocks Khanna and Massie from intervening in Maxwell case over Epstein files

Lede

Congressional cosponsors of a law requiring the Justice Department to release files tied to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell can sue to seek a court-appointed observer to help enforce compliance, but they cannot attach that request to Maxwell’s existing federal sex trafficking case, a judge ruled Wednesday.

In a decision by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, the judge blocked Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie from intervening in Maxwell’s case to press for an independent monitor, even as the dispute centers on the department’s pace in disclosing records.

What the lawmakers asked the judge to do

Khanna and Massie, whose Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November, asked Engelmayer to allow their bid for oversight of the Justice Department’s release obligations. The request sought a neutral overseer to ensure compliance and speed the public disclosure of documents the government identified as investigative materials.

Engelmayer ruled that he lacked the authority to grant the intervention request in Maxwell’s criminal case. He blocked Khanna and Massie from inserting their demand for an independent monitor into the proceedings.

The monitor dispute tied to millions of documents

The judge largely accepted the Justice Department’s position that Engelmayer, as the judge overseeing Maxwell’s case, had no authority to supervise the government’s compliance effort under the new law through the method the lawmakers proposed.

The filing at issue asked for immediate release of more than 2 million documents described as investigative materials. The judge’s ruling limited the lawmakers to other legal avenues rather than intervention in the criminal case itself.

DOJ says redactions are underway

The Justice Department told the court it has hundreds of lawyers reviewing records that have not yet been disclosed to determine what must be redacted, or blacked out, to protect the identities of hundreds of sex abuse victims. The Justice Department said that, so far, only about 12,000 documents have been made public.

Engelmayer described the compliance question raised by Khanna and Massie as “undeniably important and timely,” reflecting that the lawmakers’ concerns about whether the department was complying with the law were pressing.

Deadline missed; no penalties in the statute

Congress set a Dec. 19 deadline for the Justice Department to release all of the files, and the department missed it. Engelmayer said that lawmakers are at liberty to use their legislative tools to improve oversight of the Justice Department, and he noted that the Epstein law contains no mechanisms or penalties to ensure compliance.

What Khanna said after the ruling

Khanna said in a statement that he and Massie appreciated Engelmayer’s response and attention to their request. He said the judge raised “legitimate concerns” about whether the Justice Department was complying with the law, and Khanna said, “We will continue to use every legal option to ensure the files are released and the survivors see justice.”

How Engelmayer inherited Maxwell’s case

Engelmayer said he inherited Maxwell’s case after trial judge Alison J. Nathan was appointed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The judge said he had no authority to supervise the Justice Department’s compliance with the new law through the intervention the lawmakers requested.

Engelmayer also said he had received letters and emails from Epstein abuse survivors supporting the lawmakers’ call for a neutral overseer. Those communications expressed concern that the department would not comply with the statute, according to Engelmayer’s description in the ruling.

Maxwell’s sentence and the underlying conviction

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 sex trafficking conviction. In that case, a jury found that Maxwell helped recruit girls for Epstein to abuse over the past quarter-century and also participated in some of the abuse.

Epstein died in a federal jail in New York in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and the death was ruled a suicide.