Judge who faced Republican impeachment demands will handle Trump's Epstein request

Source: USA Today

July 21, 2025, 2:16 p.m. ET


A judge who faced Republican impeachment calls in February has been assigned to handle the Trump Justice Department's request to release the grand jury testimony that led to charges against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Manhattan federal Judge Paul Engelmayer was targeted by Republicans after temporarily blocking Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department central payment system in February.

Engelmayer has now been assigned to Maxwell's federal sex-trafficking case, after President Donald Trump's Justice Department made a request in the case on Friday to release the grand jury transcripts, with redactions to shield "victim-related and other personal identifying information."

Those transcripts would show witness testimony that formed the basis for charges against Maxwell. But the caveat on redactions could disappoint members of the public who are clamoring for a list of any potential Epstein clients who may have participated with him in a sex-trafficking ring, or for the government to release records beyond the grand jury testimony.

The Justice Department made a similar request Friday in Epstein's federal sex-trafficking case, for which Epstein was awaiting trial when he was found dead in a jail cell in 2019.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/21/judge-assigned-jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-trump/85309786007/