Justice Department says members of Congress can’t intervene in release of Epstein files
NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor said Friday that a judge did not have the authority to appoint an impartial expert to oversee the investigation. public disclosure of documents Financier in sex trafficking investigation jeffrey epstein and British society Ghislaine Maxwell.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer was told in a letter signed by U.S. Attorney General Jay Clayton that he must deny a request made earlier this week by congressional co-sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act to appoint an impartial expert.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, and Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, say they have “immediate and serious concerns” about the slow release of millions of documents in small numbers that began last month.
In their petition to the judge, they said they believed “criminal violations occurred” during the release process.
But Clayton said Khanna and Massie did not have standing in court that would allow them to seek the “extraordinary” relief of appointing a special administrator and independent auditor.
He said Engelmayer “lacked the authority” to grant such a request, especially since the congressional representatives making the request were not parties to the criminal case that led to Maxwell’s arrest. December 2021 sex trafficking conviction and a subsequent 20-year prison sentence for Epstein abusing girls and women and recruiting them to aid in the abuse.
Epstein died in a federal prison in New York City in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. It was stated that the death was suicide.
In his letter, Clayton said the Justice Department expects to update the court “again shortly” on progress in turning over documents from the Epstein and Maxwell investigation files.
The Justice Department said the release of the files was slowed because of redactions needed to protect the identities of abuse victims.
Khanna and Massie wrote in their letter that the Justice Department’s release of only 12,000 of the more than 2 million documents under review was a “clear violation” of the law’s release requirements and “Serious trauma for survivors.”
“Simply put, the Department of Justice cannot be trusted to make mandatory disclosures under the Act,” members of Congress said, while calling for the appointment of an independent monitor to ensure the immediate public release of all documents and electronically stored information.
They also recommended that a court-appointed monitor be authorized to prepare a report on the true nature and scope of the production of documents and whether improper dispositions or conduct had occurred.
