By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge who faced Republican demands for impeachment after blocking Elon Musk’s government review team from accessing sensitive Treasury Department records will consider whether to release grand jury testimony from the criminal case of Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan was assigned to the case on Monday. Maxwell’s trial judge, Alison Nathan, is now a federal appellate judge.
The assignment came three days after the U.S. government sought to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who died by suicide in 2019 in jail after being charged with sex trafficking.
In a Friday court filing, the Department of Justice said the criminal cases against Epstein and Maxwell are a matter of public interest, justifying the release of associated grand jury transcripts.
Backers of conspiracy theories about Epstein have urged President Donald Trump to release a broad array of investigative files related to Epstein, not just grand jury transcripts.
Separately, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami was assigned on Monday to preside over Trump’s $10-billion lawsuit accusing The Wall Street Journal of defaming him by claiming he created a lewd birthday greeting for Epstein in 2003.
Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal and is part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, said it will defend against the lawsuit, and had “full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting.” News Corp and Murdoch are also defendants.
Engelmayer and Gayles were appointed to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, will oversee the government’s request for transcripts in Epstein’s criminal case.
NEWEST TRUMP CASE FOR FLORIDA JUDGE
Many Trump supporters view the judiciary as an impediment to the Republican president’s policy and personal goals.
Each case could take several months or longer to resolve, followed by possible appeals.
Engelmayer, 64, came under fire and drew Musk’s scorn in February after temporarily blocking Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury systems.
Congressman Derrick Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican, said impeachment was justified because the judge played politics in his decision, “demonstrating clear bias and prejudice against the president and the 74,000,000 Americans who voted for him.”
Judicial impeachments are rare and normally reserved for serious misconduct, not disapproval of individual rulings.
Any unsealed transcripts are likely to be redacted, reflecting privacy or security concerns.
Gayles, 58, has been on the federal bench since 2014, after the U.S. Senate approved his nomination by a 98-0 vote.
The Wall Street Journal case is at least the second Trump lawsuit he has overseen.
Gayles presided in 2023 over Trump’s $500-million lawsuit accusing former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen of breaching fiduciary duties by revealing confidences and spreading falsehoods in books, podcasts, and media appearances.
Trump voluntarily dismissed that case after six months. The lawyer who filed that case also filed the Journal lawsuit.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Rod Nickel)
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