In a scathing opinion, a federal judge on Monday ruled to keep the grand jury materials sealed that were used to indict Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante Ghislaine Maxwell.

While the Trump administration may blame another “activist judge” for standing in the way of transparency in the case, Judge Paul Engelmayer left little doubt that the opposite is the case.

He noted that the administration’s premise that “the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaningful new information about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes, or the Government’s investigation into them — is demonstrably false.”

In fact, Engelmayer wrote in his opinion, anybody familiar with the trial, at which Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years for her role in Epstein’s child sex trafficking operation, would “learn next to nothing new” about the case.

“The materials do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor. They do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s. They do not reveal any heretofore unknown means or methods of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes,” he wrote. “They do not reveal new venues at which their crimes occurred. They do not reveal new sources of their wealth. They do not explore the circumstances of Epstein’s death. They do not reveal the path of the Government’s investigation.”

After having promised the public transparency in the case, the Trump administration has delivered the opposite. In recent weeks, the president has dismissed it as a “hoax” and chastised his base for still caring about Epstein.

It makes sense that Trump wants to move on. After all, he was not only friends with Epstein but, by his own admission, also aware of his preference for young women. This puts him at odds with his supporters, for whom Epstein’s crimes and the subsequent coverup of them are of supreme importance.

As a result, reeling from an unusual backlash from Trump’s base, the administration has tried to at least appear to be transparent, which has led to the request to unseal the grand jury materials.

Engelmayer, however, left little doubt that he believes this was a ruse.

“A member of the public, appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge, might conclude that the Government’s motion for their unsealing was aimed not at ‘transparency’ but at diversion — aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such,” he wrote.

The question now is whether this will work.

GOP leaders bought Trump some time when they skipped town for their summer recess before Congress could vote on legislation that would compel the administration to produce the Epstein files.

However, while the topic has faded from the public view a little since last month, in large part because conservative media outlets are trying their best to not cover the issue, the fervor of the president’s supporters should not be underestimated.

When Congress returns, it will be fascinating to see how the Epstein matter plays out… especially if Trump keeps behaving like a man who is worried about being incriminated once all of the files are released.