Trump’s DOJ wins bid to ice congressmen out of Ghislaine Maxwell case

MANHATTAN (CN) — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled he has no jurisdiction to facilitate the Justice Department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, putting to rest an effort from two U.S. congressmen to get him to intervene.

In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer rejected a bid from California Democrat Ro Khanna and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie to participate in Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case as amici curiae — or “friends of the court.” The representatives wanted Engelmayer to appoint a special master to compel the release of files relating to the late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, after a vote in Congress.

But Engelmayer, the judge assigned to Maxwell’s case, found the British socialite’s sex trafficking conviction has nothing to do with the release of the files.

“The only parties to the case are Maxwell and the United States,” the Barack Obama appointee wrote. “The indictment against Maxwell brought charges under six federal criminal statutes. Those were not brought under the EFTA, which did not exist at the time and is not a criminal statute.”

Engelmayer added that, with Maxwell getting convicted in 2021 and her Supreme Court appeal failing in October of last year, the case is over and no longer eligible for such intervention from the lawmakers.

“This case is now effectively closed,” the judge wrote.

Khanna and Massie were co-leaders on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed late last year and required the Justice Department to release everything it’s gathered on Epstein over decades of investigation by Dec. 19, 2025.

Now weeks after the deadline, only a fraction of those documents are available to the public. Khanna and Massie have accused the DOJ of dragging its feet on their publication as President Donald Trump — once a close friend of Epstein — continues to downplay their significance.

Engelmayer acknowledged in his Wednesday order the issue is “undeniably important and timely” and raises “legitimate concerns” about the Justice Department’s compliance with federal law. But despite his personal views and status as the presider in Maxwell’s case, he conceded he ultimately lacks the authority to intervene.

“The representatives do not seek to opine on any live issue before the court,” Engelmayer wrote. “And the appointment of a neutral to supervise DOJ’s compliance with the EFTA is far afield from any matter pending before the court.”

In a statement to Courthouse News, Massie said Wednesday, “We appreciate the judge’s thoughtful consideration of our letter and we remain determined to force the DOJ to follow our law using other avenues available to us and the survivors.”

Khanna echoed that sentiment, saying in a statement that he “will continue to use every legal option to ensure the files are released and the survivors see justice.”

“We appreciate Judge Engelmayer’s timely response and attention to our request, and we respect his decision,” Khanna said.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last week, Khanna told Courthouse News his purpose for intervening was to inform the court of “serious misconduct by the Department of Justice that requires a remedy, one we believe this court has the authority to provide, and which victims themselves have requested.”

Several victims have written to Engelmayer, imploring him to compel the release of more files by the DOJ. Haley Robson, a survivor of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, pointed to specific documents that have not yet been released by the government, including “hundreds of thousands of pages” of emails from Epstein’s email accounts.

“We know these exist because even news organizations like Bloomberg have obtained and reported on them,” Robson wrote to Engelmayer. “How is the press releasing this type of evidence before the Department of Justice?”

Fellow survivor Lisa Phillips declared to the court on Jan. 14 she has “no confidence that the Department of Justice, already 30 days late in complying with the act with no end in sight, and with its constantly shifting public pronouncements about the volume of documents subject to the act being reviewed, will produce the Epstein files it has represented to this court that it would release, nor the files it is legally required to produce pursuant to the act.”

The issue continues to be a thorn in the side of Trump, whose relationship with Epstein spurred a renewed interest in the sex trafficking case following the 2024 presidential election.

Earlier this month, Trump was caught on camera giving the middle finger to a Michigan auto worker who called him a “pedophile protector” as he toured a Ford plant in the suburbs of Detroit.

Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August 2019, around a month after the 66-year-old was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging.

Maxwell remains in prison following her sex trafficking conviction, in which she was found guilty of recruiting underage girls and young women for Epstein to abuse. She’s currently representing herself in a bid to get released and is reportedly seeking a pardon from Trump.

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