A federal judge has rejected an effort by two lawmakers to place independent oversight on the Justice Department’s release of records related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, even as he acknowledged ongoing concerns about whether the department is complying with federal law.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York ruled Wednesday that he lacks the authority to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the release of the Epstein files, as requested by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). In a seven-page opinion, Engelmayer said his judicial role is limited to supervising the criminal case involving Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell and does not extend to monitoring the Justice Department’s compliance with disclosure requirements under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
