Federal judge blocks lawmakers' effort to force DOJ release of Epstein files

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that he lacks jurisdiction to appoint an outside expert to ensure the Justice Department complies with a law to make all files pertaining to the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein available for public view.

The seven-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer halts an effort by Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to participate in the Ghislaine Maxwell case. 

The pair wanted to participate as amici curia, or "friends of the court" in an effort to have the judge appoint a special master to oversee the release of files related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA).

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Khanna and Massie believe that without oversight, the Justice Department will not produce all the files required by the EFTA, the ruling states. 

Engelmayer said he can't grant the congressmen's request because they are not parties to the case that led to Maxwell's December 2021 sex trafficking conviction, for which she was handed down a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting girls for the deceased financier. 

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"The only parties to the case are Maxwell and the United States, the latter represented, as is always the case, by DOJ," the judge 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. And this case is now effectively closed."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ. 

"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," Massie said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

Khanna told Fox News Digital that the pair will continue their effort to force the government to release all files related to Epstein. 

"We appreciate Judge Engelmayer's timely response and attention to our request, and we respect his decision," he said. "He said that we raised 'legitimate concerns' about whether DOJ is complying with the law. We will continue to use every legal option to ensure the files are released and the survivors see justice."

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Khanna and Massie spearheaded the EFTA, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump last year. It required the Justice Department to release all evidence gathered during decades of investigations into Epstein by Dec. 19. 

However, weeks after the deadline, a fraction of the files have been released, prompting criticism from officials on both sides of the aisle. 

The Justice Department has said the files' release was slowed by redactions required to protect the identities of abuse victims.

"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 to The Associated Press about a letter U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton wrote to Engelmayer last week. 

"Our purpose is to ensure that DOJ complies with its representations to the Court and with its legal obligations under our law," he added.

In their letter, Khanna and Massie wrote that the DOJ's release of only 12,000 documents out of more than 2 million documents being reviewed was a "flagrant violation" of the law's requirements.

"Put simply, the DOJ cannot be trusted with making mandatory disclosures under the Act," they said. 

Engelmayer acknowledged that Khanna and Massie raised "legitimate concerns," but that his hands were tied. 

"The Representatives do not seek to opine on any live issue before the Court," he wrote. "The appointment of a neutral to supervise DOJ's compliance with the EFTA is far afield from any matter pending before the Court. It is thus not a permitted form of amicus participation."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.