The Trump Administration will not permit members of Congress to intervene in release of Epstein files

The Greek Courier
Lawmakers Raise Alarm Over Slow Release of Epstein Files; DOJ Pushes Back
Source: Associated Press
New York, Jan. 17, 2026

Two bipartisan members of Congress say they have “urgent and grave concerns” about the pace and transparency of the Justice Department’s release of documents related to the sex trafficking investigation of financier Jeffrey Epstein, prompting a legal dispute over whether a federal judge can intervene.

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, urged a federal court this week to appoint a neutral expert to oversee the public release of the so‑called Epstein files. The lawmakers are co‑sponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act and argue that the Department of Justice has failed to comply with the law’s disclosure requirements.

However, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor rejected the request on Friday, arguing that the court lacks the authority to grant it.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton wrote that the judge must deny the lawmakers’ request because Khanna and Massie are not parties to the criminal case involving Epstein’s former associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in December 2021 and later sentenced to 20 years in prison for recruiting girls and women for Epstein’s abuse and facilitating that abuse.

Clayton described the request for a court‑appointed special master and independent monitor as “extraordinary” and said the court has no jurisdiction to grant such relief at the request of outside lawmakers.

Khanna, however, said the Justice Department had “misconstrued” the intent of the filing.

“We are informing 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,” Khanna said in a statement. “Our purpose is to ensure that DOJ complies with its representations to the Court and with its legal obligations under our law.”

The dispute centers on the scope and speed of the document release. The Justice Department has acknowledged that more than 2 million documents from the Epstein and Maxwell investigative files are under review. To date, approximately 12,000 documents have been released.

Khanna and Massie wrote that the limited disclosure constitutes a “flagrant violation” of the law and has caused “serious trauma to survivors.” They argued that the Justice Department “cannot be trusted” to manage mandatory disclosures on its own and called for an independent monitor with authority to assess the full scope of the document production, identify improper redactions, and report any misconduct to the court.

The Justice Department has defended the pace of the release, saying the process has been slowed by the need to protect the identities of victims through redactions. Clayton told the court that prosecutors expect to provide another update “again shortly” on the status of the document review.

Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in New York City in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, according to medical examiners. His death and the handling of evidence in the case have fueled years of public scrutiny and demands for transparency.

The release of the Epstein files remains under close watch from lawmakers, victims’ advocates, and the public, as pressure mounts on the Justice Department to disclose the full record of one of the most notorious sex trafficking investigations in recent history.

Associated Press reporting. Photo: AP Photo/Jon Elswick.