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NEW YORK — <\/span>A judge overseeing Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case<\/a> said Wednesday that two members of Congress lacked the legal right to intervene and press their demand for a court-appointed observer to ensure the government complies with a new law ordering release of its files<\/a> on Jeffrey Epstein.<\/a><\/p>\n But the lawmakers are free to bring a civil lawsuit or work through the tools they have in Congress to improve oversight, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled<\/a>.<\/p>\n U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., had co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act that was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November. It required the public disclosure of files related to the sex trafficking investigations<\/a> into Epstein, the late financier, and Maxwell, his longtime confidant. <\/p>\n Engelmayer largely agreed with the Justice Department\u2019s insistence that he had no authority to grant the congressmen’s request to speed the release of that material. They had urged Engelmayer to name an independent monitor to ensure that the government immediately released the more than 2 million documents it has identified as investigative materials. Khanna and Massie said the slow disclosure of the documents violated the law and had caused \u201cserious trauma to survivors.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n A month after the deadline had passed for the materials to be made public, only about 12,000 documents have been made public. The department has said the release of the files was delayed by redactions required to protect the identities of those who were abused.<\/p>\n Engelmayer said the questions raised by Khanna and Massie raised about whether the department was complying with the law were \u201cundeniably important and timely.\u201d But, he said, the way in which the members of Congress were trying to intervene was not permitted.<\/p>\n The judge, who inherited Maxwell\u2019s case after the trial judge was appointed to an appeals court, ruled that has no authority to supervise the department\u2019s compliance with the new law, and that Massie and Khanna have no standing, or legal right, to insinuate themselves into Maxwell\u2019s case.<\/p>\n Engelmayer said he has received letters and emails from Epstein abuse survivors in support of the lawmakers’ request for appointment of a neutral overseer.<\/p>\n \u201cThese express concern that DOJ otherwise will not comply with the Act,\u201d wrote the judge, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n The department has been \u201cpaying \u2018lip service\u2019 to the victims\u201d and \u201cfailing to treat us \u2018with the solicitude\u2019 we deserve,\u201d survivors wrote, according to Engelmayer.<\/p>\n Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence<\/a> after her December 2021 sex trafficking conviction. She recently petitioned the federal court for her release, maintaining that new information has emerged that warrants her release. A jury found that she had helped to recruit girls for Epstein to abuse over the past quarter-century and had also participated in some of the abuse.<\/p>\n Epstein died in a federal jail in New York in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The death was ruled a suicide<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n