Lawyers for imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell filed papers Friday in Manhattan federal court seeking to block the release of more than 90,000 pages of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The lawyers argue that a new law mandating the disclosure violates the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine.

The legal challenge threatens to slow a congressional push for transparency in the Epstein case, which has seen millions of documents released—but with names of victims exposed while some alleged abusers’ identities remain redacted.

The Constitutional Challenge

Maxwell’s lawyers argue the Justice Department obtained the documents improperly during its criminal investigation of Maxwell. The documents include transcripts of more than 30 depositions and private information regarding financial and sexual matters related to Maxwell and others, the lawyers said.

“Congress cannot, by statute, strip this Court of the power or relieve it of the responsibility to protect its files from misuse. To do so violates the separation of powers,” wrote Maxwell’s lawyers, Laura Menninger and Jeffrey Pagliuca, referring to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“Under the Constitution’s separation of powers, neither Congress nor the Executive Branch may intrude on the judicial power. That power includes the power to definitively and finally resolve cases and disputes,” the lawyers added.

Congressional Action and Redaction Disputes

The legal documents stem from a civil defamation lawsuit brought roughly a decade ago by Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell and have since been settled. The Justice Department recently asked the court to lift secrecy requirements on the files.

Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in December with the explicit aim of forcing the release of millions of documents related to Epstein and his associates. Some documents from the settlement proceedings have already been released publicly following a federal appeals court order.

Members of Congress have complained that only about half of existing documents, many with redactions, have been made public. The Justice Department has stated that everything has been released except some files that cannot be made public until a judge provides approval.

Some victims have complained that their names and personal information were revealed in the released documents while the names of alleged abusers were redacted.

Virginia Giuffre claimed that Epstein trafficked her to other men, including Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Giuffre sued Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, claiming they had sex when she was 17. He denied her claims and the two settled the lawsuit in 2022.

Days before Maxwell’s lawyers filed their motion, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in having shared confidential trade information with Epstein. He was held in custody for nearly 11 hours.

Maxwell, 64, was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Epstein took his own life in a federal lockup in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell was moved last summer from a federal prison in Florida to a low-security prison camp in Texas after she participated in two days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Two weeks before the filing, she declined to answer questions from House Oversight Committee lawmakers in a deposition conducted via video call to her federal prison camp. Through a statement from her lawyer, Maxwell indicated she was prepared to speak fully and honestly if granted clemency.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.