Judge gives Justice Department a day to detail Ghislaine Maxwell trial materials to be released

By MICHAEL R SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER NEW YORK AP A federal judge in Manhattan is demanding more information from the Justice Department as he weighs its request to unseal records from the sex trafficking event against Jeffrey Epstein s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell Related Articles Fitness care plan circulated by the White House runs into familiar GOP divisions DC Mayor Bowser announces she won t seek fourth term as Trump s federal intervention continues Wisconsin Supreme Court says -judge panels must decide congressional redistricting cases Democratic congressman s lawsuit insists Trump housing official abused post to target Trump critics X s new feature raises questions about the foreign origins of selected popular US political accounts Judge Paul A Engelmayer on Tuesday ordered the Justice Department to tell him what materials it plans to publicly release that were subject to secrecy orders in the British socialite s scenario The deadline Noon on Wednesday Engelmayer s order came after the Justice Department on Monday petitioned for his permission to release grand jury records exhibits and discovery materials in the Maxwell episode Engelmayer reported administration lawyers must file a letter on the circumstance docket describing materials it wants to release in sufficient detail to meaningfully inform casualties what it plans to make citizens Maxwell was convicted in by a federal jury of sex trafficking for helping recruit selected of Epstein s underage sufferers She is serving a -year prison sentence Epstein a millionaire money manager known for socializing with celebrities politicians billionaires and the academic elite killed himself in jail a month after his arrest Engelmayer had already notified casualties and Maxwell that they can respond next month to Justice Department s request to release materials before he decides whether to grant it The Justice Department announced it was seeking the court s approval to release materials to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress and signed into law last week by President Donald Trump It calls for the release of grand jury and discovery materials in the scenario The request along with an identical one for grand jury transcripts from Epstein s event was among the first masses indications that the Justice Department was trying to comply with the transparency act which requires it to release Epstein-related files in a searchable format by Dec Engelmayer did not preside over the trial but was assigned to the scenario after the trial judge Alison J Nathan was elevated to the nd U S Circuit Court of Appeals Discovery materials subject to secrecy orders are likely to include victim interviews and other materials that previously would have been only viewed by lawyers or Maxwell prior to her trial Engelmayer noted in an order Monday that Maxwell and casualties of Maxwell and Epstein can respond by Dec to the administration s request to make materials community The administration must respond to their filings by Dec The judge announced he will rule promptly thereafter Lawyers for casualties did not forthwith respond to messages seeking comment A spokesperson for federal prosecutors declined to comment Judge Richard M Berman who presided over the Epstein incident before his death issued an order on Tuesday allowing sufferers and Epstein s estate to respond to the Justice Department s unsealing request by Dec He stated the regime can respond to any submissions by Dec Berman stated he would make his best efforts to resolve this motion promptly