Lawmakers can sue to ensure release of Epstein files, but not as part of Maxwell case, judge says

NEW YORK (AP) — Congressional cosponsors of a law forcing the Justice Department to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell can file a lawsuit seeking a court-appointed observer to ensure compliance, but they lack the legal right to append their demand to her criminal case, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer blocked U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. from intervening in Maxwell’s sex trafficking case. The lawmakers, whose Epstein...