Justice Department says members of Congress can't intervene in release of Epstein files

"NEW YORK -- Manhattan's top federal prosecutor said Friday that a judge lacks the authority to appoint a neutral expert to oversee the public release of documents in the sex trafficking probe of financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer was told in a letter signed by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton that he must reject a request this week by the congressional cosponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act to appoint a neutral expert."

"In a filing to the judge they said they believed "criminal violations have taken place" in the release process. Clayton, though, said Khanna and Massie do not have standing with the court that would allow them to seek the "extraordinary" relief of the appointment of a special master and independent monitor. Engelmayer "lacks the authority" to grant such a request, he said,"

""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," he added."

A judge lacks authority to appoint a neutral expert to oversee the public release of documents in the sex trafficking probe of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. A letter from the U.S. Attorney urged rejection of a request by congressional cosponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act to appoint a neutral expert. Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie raised urgent concerns about the slow release of only a small portion of millions of documents and alleged criminal violations in the release process. The congressional representatives are not parties to the criminal case that produced Maxwell's December 2021 conviction and 20-year sentence. Khanna characterized the response as misconstruing the intent and emphasized victims' requests for remedies and DOJ compliance with legal obligations.

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