November 18, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - Attorneys for former Jeffrey Epstein partner, friend, and alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell on Monday asked a federal judge in Manhattan to grant them a one-month extension as they prepare to argue that the court should not unseal the identities of non-party persons whose names appear in documents ordered released by the court.

U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska in August ordered the release of more than 2,000 previously sealed documents from alleged Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s now-settled 2015 defamation lawsuit against Maxwell. Attorneys for Giuffre have fought to have the court unseal significantly more pages, while Maxwell’s lawyers have tried to stymie the release of new information, arguing that documents do not fall under the definition of “judicial documents,” and therefore are not subject to the presumption of access by the public.

Judge Preska last month ordered the attorneys for both sides to submit letters to the court on Nov. 19 stating what material in the document trove should not be unsealed and to provide a reason why the information should remain confidential. Maxwell’s attorneys filed a motion requesting an additional 30 days to review the material and submit their arguments, asserting that “hundreds” of currently redacted non-party names may be publicly released.