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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).
CLINTON TEAM DEMANDS TRUMP DOJ RELEASE ‘ANY REMAINING’ DOCS RELATED TO FORMER PRESIDENT, EPSTEIN
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, left, and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are pushing for the Justice Department to release files in the Jeffrey Epstein case. (Reuters)
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.
READ THE DECISION – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:
“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…
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