The Jeffrey Epstein morass surrounding President Donald Trump is deepening amid growing defiance by some Republicans and despite the administration’s most inflammatory attempt yet at distraction.

The federal judge now overseeing the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal case said in a new order Tuesday that he plans to rule "expeditiously" on the matter but requires more information before he can.

Judge Robin L. Rosenberg said she could not legally grant the Justice Department’s request to release the testimony of witnesses who appeared before the grand jury.

In response to a public clamor for more information about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking case, the Trump administration has asked federal courts to unseal grand jury transcripts.While seeking the files’ release allows President Donald Trump to claim that he has nothing to hide about the late,