New York City, New York — A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request from Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Ro Khanna of California to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the Justice Department’s release of records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York acknowledged that the lawmakers raised “legitimate concerns” about whether the Justice Department is complying with the law. However, he ruled that the federal court overseeing the criminal case of Ghislaine Maxwell does not have jurisdiction to supervise DOJ compliance with a civil disclosure statute.
Engelmayer wrote that the Epstein Files Transparency Act does not grant authority to the court to appoint a special master and noted that neither the Justice Department nor Maxwell had filed motions related to the act’s implementation. He also rejected the lawmakers’ attempt to intervene as amici curiae, stating that they were improperly introducing a new legal issue unrelated to the criminal case.
Massie and Khanna, who successfully pushed the transparency measure into law late last year, have sharply criticized the DOJ for missing a Dec. 19, 2025 deadline for full public release of Epstein-related records. They argue the department cannot be trusted to police itself and have warned Attorney General Pam Bondi of potential inherent contempt actions if delays continue.
The DOJ has said it is reviewing more than 2 million documents and has released just over 12,000 so far, citing the scope and sensitivity of the material. The ruling leaves enforcement of the law’s disclosure requirements unresolved, placing the dispute back into the political and administrative arena rather than the courts.
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