Judge Takes Emergency Action Against Trump Over the Files

0:00Seriously, why aren't Democrats in Washington doing more to stop Trump? I know. Have you heard about Phil Weiser in Colorado, though? No. Is he different? Yeah. A.G. Weiser sued the Trump administration 65 times. He's beating Trump in court again and again. Things like protecting Obamacare against Trump's illegal tariffs. And he even won against Ticketmaster. So he actually gets results. Exactly. As governor, Phil will fight for Colorado. Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado Registered Agent Anna Noskezi. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify.

0:35They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. Some days you just want to amplify your everyday look. Like when you want the look of false lashes without the extra effort? Reach for Thrive Cosmetics Liquid Lash Volumizer Mascara. Or when you want all eyes on your smile, keep Empower Gloss Ultra Glossy Lip Serum in your bag.

1:14It's a burst of 24-hour hydration that smooths like a serum, shines like a gloss, and can be worn sheer or layered. You'll always look and feel your best with Thrive Cosmetics. Plus, every product is 100 % vegan, cruelty-free, and made with clean, skin-loving ingredients that work with your skin, not against it. Amplify your everyday. Go to thrivecosmetics.com slash shine26 for an exclusive offer of 20 % off your first order. That's Thrive Cosmetics, C-A-U-S-E-M-E-T-I-C-S dot com slash shine26. This is a Monday.com ad. The same Monday.com helping people worldwide getting work done faster and better.

1:52The Same Monday dot com designed for every team and every industry. The Same Monday dot com with built in AI scaling your work from day one. The Same Monday dot com that your team will actually love using. The Same Monday dot com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday dot com and try it for free. Yes, the same Monday dot com. Seriously, why aren't Democrats in Washington doing more to stop Trump? I know. Have you heard about Phil Weiser in Colorado, though? No. Is he different? Yeah. A.G. Weiser sued the Trump administration 65 times. He's beating Trump in court again and again. Things like protecting Obamacare against Trump's illegal tariffs.

2:34And he even won against Ticketmaster. So he actually gets results. Exactly. As governor, Phil will fight for Colorado. Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado Registered Agent and in Noskezi.

2:45Michael Popok:No, at least one federal judge is not going to take the Department of Justice at its word that it's going to protect the rights of the Epstein survivors and victims in releasing new documents and information about the child sex trafficking ring that he participated in and that Donald Trump has been busy covering up ever since. Judge Engelmeyer in New York has just issued a new order, an opinion and order, in which he's going to allow the grand jury transcripts from the Ghislaine Maxwell indictment and prosecution to be released to the public and dozens of categories of other documents that we call discovery, which was the documents that were used in her prosecution that led to her conviction on five felony counts of child sex trafficking and her sentence and are being sentenced to almost 20 years in prison, those documents, the discovery, are now going to be part of the public domain.

3:40Michael Popok:But Judge Engelmeyer is not trusting the Department of Justice to protect the survivors and the victims. He set up a mechanism to make sure they are protected. He's put the U.S. attorney in New York, Southern District, Jay Clayton, to take personal responsibility to ensure that the survivors' and victims' identities are protected. And then he takes a certain amount of time to excoriate, in his order, the Trump administration for failing to protect them in the past. I'm Michael Popok. You're on Legal AF at I Might as Touch. Let's get to it. Take a minute. Hit the free subscribe button on the Legal AF YouTube channel while you're at it.

4:21Michael Popok:Paul Engelmeyer took over the case from Judge Nathan after she was elevated to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He presides over all things Ghislaine Maxwell in New York. Now, over the summer, the Trump administration, before the act was passed into law by Congress, tried to get the same materials, release the grand jury transcripts released from Judge Berman presiding over the Epstein indictment and criminal case and Judge Engelmeyer, who took over in the Maxwell case. And they were denied at the time, along with the judge in Florida because under the federal rules of criminal procedure rule 6E, there are limited grounds to release confidential grand jury materials.

5:05Michael Popok:And there was a protective order that was in place by Judge Nathan to protect having the discovery of the documents or information used in these trials, at least for Maxwell, out in the public. But the world changed after the Epstein Transparency Act was signed into law, now a congressional law that effectively overrides Rule 6E that governs secrecy of the grand jury and compels that the information that was gathered by and about to be used by the government in the discovery, that that be now made available to the public. But you still have as gatekeepers, judges like Judge Engelmeyer to make sure the process doesn't harm the innocent, doesn't harm the victims or victimize the survivors all over again.

5:52Michael Popok:And Judge Engelmeyer, who's now the second judge in the last week, Judge Rodney Smith in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has also, because of the law now being put into place, has ordered that things related to Epstein's investigation in 2006 and 2007 down in the Southern District of Florida also be made available. Clock is ticking down there as well. Next up, Judge Engelmeyer. And here's what he says after acknowledging that the court has received a series of letters written by lawyers representing a consortium of victims. They're all on the public docket who expressed a lot of concern by the way the Department of Justice has been handling the case and throwing their names around and how names have gotten released and leaked, even when the Oversight Committee, including Democrats in the House, released certain of the emails and information.

6:44Michael Popok:This is different than the group that has decided to out themselves like Annie Farmer, like Lisa Phillips and others who have taken to Capitol Hill to have their nightmare exposed to reclaim their life and their dignity. There's also another group, hundreds of victims who have not come forward and do not want to come forward at the present time and don't want to be outed by the disclosure of this information. That's the group we're talking about that needs protection. Here's what the judge gets around to saying on page 19 over to 20. It says in page 19, in moving to modify the protective order that was put in place by Judge Nathan to cover the discovery information, the bigger volume of documents than just the grand jury information, the Department of Justice has stated that it will work with the relevant U.S.

7:40Michael Popok:attorneys' offices to make appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information. The victims of Epstein and Maxwell who have written the court are largely supportive of the act's command that DOJ's investigative records relating to Epstein and Maxwell's crimes be made public, but they have voiced concern that their identities and privacy will be compromised. The victims therefore seek the court's assurance in ensuring that their names and identifying information are protected from public disclosure and that there be a reliable mechanism for this. Therefore, the court says, I'm going to impose a reliable mechanism, but then chastises the Department of Justice under Donald Trump.

8:22Michael Popok:On page 20, the victim's concerns regrettably have a basis in fact. In its two rounds of applications to this court to disclose records, DOJ, although paying lip service to Maxwell's and Epstein's victims have not treated them with the solicitude they deserve. DOJ made its July 18th motion to unseal the grand jury materials without giving notice to Maxwell and Epstein's victims. Only after this court and Judge Berman in Epstein's case inquired as to the point on their own and set a schedule for victims' input on the motion did the victims get notice. The letters the court thereupon received from victims widely expressed distress at the lack of notice given to them by the DOJ, an alarm that the grand jury records DOJ would release, if authorized, would invade their privacy.

9:19Michael Popok:And, Judge Engelmeyer continues, as the court chronicled in denying the motion, the motion itself misled the victims and the public at large in holding out the Maxwell grand jury materials as essential to the goal of transparency when in fact the grand jury materials would not add to public knowledge. As the court put in denial of the motion, a member of the public familiar with Maxwell trial record who reviewed the grand jury materials that the government proposed to unseal would thus learn next to nothing new. The materials do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as as having sexual contact with a minor, that includes Maxwell folks.

10:03Michael Popok:They do not reveal any heretofore unknown means or methods of the crimes. They do not reveal the path of the government's investigation. And he can speak to this from his purchase of federal judge because he reviewed the grand jury transcripts. So he is not buying anything the Department of Justice is selling. Ever wake up sweaty, freezing, or just plain uncomfortable? The temperature in your bedroom can make or break your sleep. That's why I switched to Miracle Made Sheets. They're inspired by NASA technology and use silver-infused temperature-regulating fabric to help you sleep perfectly all night long.

10:43Michael Popok:With Miracle Made, you'll sleep at the perfect temperature. Whether you run hot or cold, these sheets keep you in the comfort zone from the moment you crawl in to the moment you wake up. And here's what I love. They stay cleaner longer thanks to their antibacterial silver technology miracle-made sheets. Stay fresh up to three times longer than regular sheets, meaning fewer odors, fewer wash cycles, and way less laundry. They're luxuriously comfortable too. Smooth, breathable, and soft like what you'd find in a five-star hotel, but without the luxury price tag. So upgrade your sleep or give the gift a better rest.

11:26Michael Popok:Go to trymiracle.com slash legal AF to try Miracle Mate Sheets today. You'll save over 40%. And when you use promo code legal AF, you'll get an extra 20 % off plus a free three-piece towel set. They make an amazing gift. And with a 30-day money-back guarantee, there's no risk. That's trymiracle.com slash legal AF, code Legal AF at checkout. Thanks to Miracle Made for sponsoring this episode. Instead, he has appointed and anointed the U.S. Attorney for the District, Jay Clayton, who is the acting interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, but reasonably well considered, to be the one to certify that the victim's names have been redacted in all identifying information.

12:10Michael Popok:He says on page 21, Judge Engelmeyer, the United States attorney for this district is the right person to make such a certification. He signed the motion seeking the modification. He heads the office and led the successful investigation and prosecution of Maxwell. And that office has amassed the discovery in this case. And this court has great confidence that the professionals in the United States attorney's office will ably discharge this important and urgent duty. In light of the above, he then modified its order. So we are now with two judges, and I'm sure Judge Berman will do the same thing, one step closer as part of the quote-unquote Epstein files, not just to get the terabyte of information and hundreds of thousands of pages that are in the hands of the executive branch and have always been in the hands of the executive branch and have never needed a court order or a congressional bill to release.

13:05Michael Popok:We'll get that. We'll get whatever was compiled to try the Ghislaine Maxwell case. That will come out into the public. And we will get, I'm sure, whatever was used down in Florida for these two matters, and also in Judge Berman in the Epstein matter as well. This will be addendums to, bolted onto the pile of Epstein files that will be released. One little side note, there has always been a person that's known what's in these files, the one who tried the case and prosecuted successfully Ghislaine Maxwell and got her convicted of the five felony counts. That's James Comey's daughter, Maureen Comey.

13:46Michael Popok:But she was fired about two months ago from her role before, and on purpose, I'm sure, before Donald Trump's Todd Blanche, the number two in the Department of Justice, met with Ghislaine Maxwell with an immunity deal because he didn't want Maureen Comey sitting next to him telling him that Ghislaine Maxwell was a liar. And here's the documents to prove it. He wanted to go in clean, bury his head in the sand, have amnesia, and just listen to Ghislaine Maxwell bullshit. Now we're getting the files and the documents out here. And at the top of the order that the Judge Engelmeyer just issued, he makes sure to also recount for the public record the dastardly conduct of Ghislaine Maxwell and how she came to be convicted.

14:34Michael Popok:Because in case people forget, this is on page two. The highlights. June 29, 2020, a grand jury indicted Maxwell on charges arising from her facilitation of and participation in a scheme by the notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to abuse multiple minor girls. Maxwell's jury trial was in November 2021. It entailed testimony from four women who described the sexual abuse they suffered as girls at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell, testimony of individuals who had worked for them, testimony of law enforcement, and evidence including Epstein and Maxwell's black book, flight logs, FedEx records, and the like.

15:19Michael Popok:The trial ended December 2021 with Maxwell's conviction of five felony counts, and he spells them out in case you forgot. Conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. Conspiracy to transport minors with intent to engage in illegal sex acts. Transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sex acts, participation in a sex trafficking conspiracy and sex trafficking of a minor. And then on June 28th, the Honorable Allison Nathan sentenced Maxwell to 240 months in prison. She appealed. The appeal was denied. Her conviction was affirmed by the Second Circuit in 2024.

16:06Michael Popok:The Second Circuit denied her right to a rehearing. And on October 6, 2025, the United States Supreme Court denied her petition for appeal. That's it, folks. You can hear about all sorts of writs of habeas corpus by Ghislaine Maxwell trying to get out of jail in Texas that she's going to apparently do by herself as a jailhouse lawyer. But she was convicted, and rightly so, for the disgusting and immoral and illegal conduct of child sex trafficking. And now we are going to be able to see all the documents with the survivors and the victims who are supportive of these documents coming out, being properly protected by Judge Engelmeyer and the other judges to make sure their names are not disclosed and other identifying personal information.

16:51Michael Popok:And if it is, so help Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, because he alone is now liable and responsible for this conduct. I'll continue to follow it all right here on Midas Touch and Legal AF I'm Michael Popak Can't get your fill of Legal AF? Me neither That's why we formed the Legal AF Substack Every time we mention something in a hot take whether it's a court filing or a oral argument come over to the Substack you'll find the court filing and the oral argument there including a daily roundup that I do call wait for it Morning AF What else? All the other contributors from Legal AF are there as well We got some new reporting We got interviews.

17:29Michael Popok:We got ad-free versions of the podcast and hot takes. Wear Legal AF on Substack. Come over now to free subscribe.

17:58Obamacare, against Trump's illegal tariffs, and he even won against Ticketmaster. So he actually gets results. Exactly. As Governor, Phil will fight for Colorado. Paid for by Phil Weiser for Colorado Registered Agent and in Noscazi. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just$15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required.

18:37Intro rate first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. You know that music? That's the sound of shopping for car insurance the old way. Life's too short for that. Jerry makes car insurance easier. Open the app, answer a few questions, and Jerry pulls up to 20 quotes from top insurers. Then choose and switch right in the app. No re-entering your information. No saxophone solos. And Jerry keeps checking rates for you. So you're not back on hold six months from now. Visit jerry.ai slash Libsyn today. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile.

19:14The message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just$15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. Hi, I'm Jake Rez, also known as Nurse Jake. As a travel nurse, I've worked in all kinds of places, different settings, cities, and climates.

19:50Every assignment brings on a new challenge, which is why I always bring my figs. These scrubs are built for whatever the job throws at you. They're breathable, flexible, and comfortable in any environment. No matter where I land, I know they're going to keep me looking and feeling my best. And don't sleep on the details. The pockets, the features, the finishing touches, everything has a purpose, and it makes a real difference when you're moving nonstop. The fit is clean, tailored, and super polished, and they come in a huge range of colors. In other words, they feel great throughout a 12-hour shift and they always look good.

20:21See every healthcare professional on Instagram. If you work in healthcare or know someone who does, check out Figs and get 15 % off your first order at wearfigs.com with code FIGSRX. That's wearfigs.com, code FIGSRX.