NEW YORK – A federal judge in Manhattan is seeking additional details from the Justice Department as he considers a request to unseal documents related to the sex trafficking case of Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein.

On Tuesday, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer instructed the Justice Department to specify which materials, previously protected by secrecy orders in the British socialite’s case, they intend to disclose publicly.

The judge set a deadline for this information: Wednesday at noon.

This order followed a request from the Justice Department on Monday, seeking approval to release grand jury records, exhibits, and other discovery materials pertaining to Maxwell’s trial.

Judge Engelmayer further directed government attorneys to submit a detailed letter on the case docket, outlining the materials they wish to release, ensuring that victims are adequately informed about what may soon be made public.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 by a federal jury of sex trafficking for helping recruit some of Epstein’s underage victims. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Epstein, a millionaire money manager known for socializing with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and the academic elite, killed himself in jail a month after his 2019 arrest.

Engelmayer had already notified victims and Maxwell that they can respond next month to Justice Department’s request to release materials before he decides whether to grant it.

The Justice Department said it was seeking the court’s approval to release materials to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress and signed into law last week by President Donald Trump. It calls for the release of grand jury and discovery materials in the case.

The request, along with an identical one for grand jury transcripts from Epstein’s case, was among the first public indications that the Justice Department was trying to comply with the transparency act, which requires it to release Epstein-related files in a searchable format by Dec. 19.

Engelmayer did not preside over the trial, but was assigned to the case after the trial judge, Alison J. Nathan, was elevated to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Discovery materials subject to secrecy orders are likely to include victim interviews and other materials that previously would have been only viewed by lawyers or Maxwell prior to her trial.

Engelmayer said in an order Monday that Maxwell and victims of Maxwell and Epstein can respond by Dec. 3 to the government’s request to make materials public. The government must respond to their filings by Dec. 10. The judge said he will rule “promptly thereafter.”

Lawyers for victims did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. A spokesperson for federal prosecutors declined to comment.

Judge Richard M. Berman, who presided over the Epstein case before his death, issued an order on Tuesday allowing victims and Epstein’s estate to respond to the Justice Department’s unsealing request by Dec. 3. He said the government can respond to any submissions by Dec. 8.

Berman said he would make his “best efforts to resolve this motion promptly.”