Judge rules against lawmakers pressing for monitor to ensure release of Epstein files
January 21, 2026
A judge overseeing Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case says two members of Congress lack 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 on Jeffrey Epstein. But the judge says the lawmakers are free to bring a civil lawsuit or work through the tools they have in Congress to improve oversight. The lawmakers had co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act and said the Trump administration’s slow disclosure of Epstein investigation documents violated the law. The judge said they raised “undeniably important and timely” questions but couldn’t intervene in the case.