Judge Detested by Trump Will Oversee Epstein Files Case
A lawsuit seeking a trove of government documents related to Jeffrey Epstein just got passed to the federal judge who made Donald Trump’s life a living hell.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who previously presided over Trump’s federal election interference case, will now oversee a new lawsuit from Democracy Forward Foundation, a D.C.-based nonprofit, requesting the Department of Justice and the FBI release any communications between Trump officials on the Epstein matter, any communication between Trump and Epstein himself, and Epstein’s so-called client list that Attorney General Pam Bondi previously acknowledged having in her possession.
In conjunction with several Freedom of Information Act requests, DFF also requested expedited processing. DFF argued that the swift acquisition of the documents was a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exist possible questions about the government’s integrity that affect public confidence” and that there was a particular exigency in light of Trump’s refusal to rule out clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator.
Among the records requested were “all materials prepared or compiled by DOJ officials for Attorney General Bondi’s review regarding the Jeffery Epstein matter,” which would likely include a list of Epstein’s clients to whom he allegedly trafficked underage girls.
Bondi had previously said such a list was sitting on her desk, ready to review, before later claiming it had never existed in the first place.
Chutkan has also overseen another case attacking DOGE’s authority, and more recently blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from withholding grant money.