A judge confirmed the Trump administration’s big initial move toward supposed transparency was, in fact, a smokescreen.

A judge is essentially accusing President Trump’s DOJ of trying to mislead the public with the “illusion” of transparency over the Epstein files. MSNBC’s Jason Johnson reports and is joined by Asha Rangappa,

Transcripts of grand jury testimony that led to sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime confidante Ghislaine Maxwell shouldn’t be released, a judge ruled Monday in a stinging decision suggesting the Trump administration’s real motive for wanting them unsealed was to fool the public with an “illusion” of

President Trump has tried to subdue conspiracy theories by pushing to disclose the transcripts from the cases of Jeffrey Epstein, who abused teenage girls, and Ghislaine Maxwell, who assisted him.

The ruling, following a similar rejection in Florida, noted that the material contained almost nothing that wasn’t already known.