TJ Madsen is among the founding members of the New Herald Tribune and chairs the editorial board. He worked for national syndicated newspapers in Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore before moving to the midwest.
February 19 , 2026
Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal suit seeking to prevent the public release of British law-enforcement interviews and interrogation records involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the British royal whose recent arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office has prompted intense global attention.
In a complaint filed this week in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Justice Department argues that disclosing police interrogation materials related to its handling of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case could compromise ongoing investigations and violate privacy protections. The DOJ’s motion seeks a court order barring federal agencies from releasing transcripts, recordings or related materials to journalists or under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). It further enjoins UK news outlets from disseminating the material via any media accessible in the United States.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office says the records at issue include interviews conducted by U.S. prosecutors and law-enforcement officials tied to the investigation of millions of documents connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Those “Epstein files” have been released in batches over recent weeks under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a 2025 federal law that requires the Justice Department to make investigative records public within statutory deadlines. The DOJ suit asserts that specific interrogation records — allegedly involving Mountbatten-Windsor’s potential role in passing confidential information to Epstein — fall under exemptions that permit withholding where release would “reasonably impair law-enforcement proceedings.”
A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on specifics of the complaint but emphasized the department’s commitment to complying with transparency laws while safeguarding the integrity of active investigations and the rights of individuals involved.
Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, was arrested in the United Kingdom on Feb. 19, 2026, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, connected in part to allegedly sharing confidential British government materials with Epstein when he served as a UK trade envoy. British police released him “under investigation” after questioning. The arrest was an unprecedented development in the long-running scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein and came shortly after large volumes of U.S. government records were made public.
Advocates for transparency, including some members of Congress and press freedom groups, criticized the Justice Department’s effort to block the files. They argue that public access to law-enforcement interviews could shed light on how Epstein’s network operated and how authorities responded. Critics say broad exemptions to disclosure undermine the intent of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support requiring the release of government records related to the Epstein investigation by a statutory deadline in late 2025.
Supporters of the suit counter that unfiltered release of raw interview material may reveal sensitive investigative techniques, jeopardize witness safety and violate privacy protections for individuals not charged with crimes. They point to longstanding legal exemptions in FOIA that allow the government to withhold law-enforcement records where such harms are demonstrable.
The case is expected to raise broader questions about how law-enforcement materials are balanced against demands for greater public access, especially in matters involving high-profile individuals and complex international investigations. A hearing on the DOJ’s motion is scheduled for later this spring.
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