Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor on Friday argued that a judge does not have the authority to appoint a neutral expert to oversee the public release of documents in the sex trafficking investigations of financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the court must reject a request made earlier this week by congressional cosponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The lawmakers, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), expressed “urgent and grave concerns” over the slow release of only a small fraction of millions of documents that began being disclosed last month.
The congressmen claimed in their filing that “criminal violations have taken place” in the release process. They sought the appointment of a special master or independent monitor to ensure all documents are made public and to investigate potential misconduct or improper redactions.
Clayton countered that Khanna and Massie lack standing in the case, making them ineligible to request such “extraordinary” relief. “The court lacks the authority to grant this request,” Clayton wrote, noting that the lawmakers are not parties to the criminal case that resulted in Maxwell’s December 2021 conviction and 20-year prison sentence for recruiting victims for Epstein’s abuse.
Epstein, who was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, died in August 2019 in a New York City federal jail; his death was ruled a suicide.
The Justice Department said the release of files has been slowed by redactions required to protect the identities of victims. Clayton said the department plans to update the court “again shortly” on its progress in turning over the investigative files.
Khanna and Massie, however, criticized the pace of disclosure, noting that the DOJ had released just 12,000 documents out of more than 2 million under review. They described the slow release as a “flagrant violation” of the law and said it inflicted “serious trauma to survivors.”
The lawmakers urged the court to appoint an independent monitor with authority to report on the completeness and accuracy of the document production, including whether improper redactions or conduct occurred during the DOJ’s handling of the files.
