Judge rejects Trump administration request to release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents
A federal judge said he would not unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein – rejecting the Justice Department’s request to make them public.
Judge Richard Berman said the Justice Department did not overcome long-standing precedent to keep grand jury materials sealed and noted that the information contained in the sealed materials is small relative to the entire investigation file already in DOJ’s hands.
“The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hand of the Department of Justice,” the judge wrote.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Berman’s ruling. This is the third federal judge to decline to release Epstein-related transcripts and evidence from a grand jury.
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This undated trial evidence image obtained December 8, 2021, from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York shows British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, right, and US financier Jeffrey Epstein, left.
Federal judge rejects Trump DOJ’s bid to unseal grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell case
The ruling comes as the Trump administration has faced mounting pressure to release more information around the Epstein files, especially after senior officials promised to do so.
“The Government is a logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breath and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession,” Berman wrote Wednesday.
The judge added another compelling reason to keep the records sealed are “possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi released binders to right-wing social media influencers at the White House in February, but many of the influencers shared that the binders did not reveal any new information regarding the Epstein files.
The Justice Department started revoking their promises to release more information in Epstein’s case in May and downplaying the situation. Bondi alerted Trump in May that his name appeared in the files.
On July 7, the DOJ released an unsigned memo saying they would not be releasing any more documents regarding the Epstein files. The lack of transparency in the memo only angered Democrats, the public and even members of Trump’s political base.
Third judge to rule against DOJ
The Justice Department has explored several avenues to have more information released, including by asking two federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury materials in Epstein’s case and Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. Maxwell is Epstein’s long-time partner who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls.
New York federal Judge Paul Engelmayer denied the Justice Department’s request for grand jury materials in Maxwell’s case on August 11 in a scathing opinion, saying that the premise of DOJ’s argument was false and that the request was not a matter of public interest.
The Justice Department also requested the unsealing of grand jury materials from a federal court in Florida, and a judge swiftly denied the request.
Additionally, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted a two-day interview with Maxwell on July 24 and 25 bs2web at the US Attorney’s Office in Tallahassee, Florida. The Justice Department is working on transcribing a 10-hour audio tape from the interview.
