Paul Engelmayer, a judge at a Manhattan court, rejected the Trump administration's request to release the court records of the Epstein case to the public
Last month, a Florida-based court also presided over by a judge appointed by Obama dismissed the administration's lawsuit seeking to declassify the grand jury transcripts that had indicted the financier who died in 2019. In that decision, Judge Rosenberg simply stated that "the court's hands were tied."
Meanwhile, for Engelmayer, the motion filed by the administration was not aimed at transparency but at distraction. "Contrary to what the Government claims, Maxwell's grand jury testimony is neither of historical importance nor of significant public interest. Far from it. It is routine testimony by two law enforcement officers," the document states.
Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of having played a key role in the operation of the New York pedophile's trafficking network, with whom she shared a romantic relationship. She is appealing her conviction to the Supreme Court of the United States and has requested a presidential pardon.
In recent days, Maxwell was transferred to a lower-security prison shortly after meeting with Deputy Prosecutor Todd Blanche, a man of utmost trust for President Trump who was tasked with uncovering the truth about the case.
Last week, Maxwell's lawyers expressed opposition to releasing the documents held by the courts that investigated this trafficking network. Another request from the administration to release the testimony of a grand jury that investigated Epstein in Manhattan is pending resolution.
A federal judge in Manhattan appointed by former President Barack Obama ruled against the Trump administration and refused to declassify the court documents in the Epstein case, specifically those related to his ex-girlfriend and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Judge Paul Engelmayer reasoned that such action "would not reveal any new relevant information" in order to rule against the Trump administration's request. In his decision, Engelmayer harshly criticized the position of the Department of Justice, which sought to declassify specifically the grand jury documents that investigated and formally charged Maxwell in 2020.
"Their entire premise—that Maxwell's grand jury materials would shed significant light on the crimes of Epstein and Maxwell, or on the government's investigation— is demonstrably false," the judge wrote, unusually suggesting that any declassification would not reveal any new important information about the case.
The ruling represents another setback for the Department of Justice in its attempt to provide the public with more information about the Epstein case after Trump ordered his prosecutors to investigate the case and interview Maxwell in the prison where she is currently being held.
