DOJ Asks Judges To Release Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Transcripts
On Tuesday, the Trump administration urged two federal judges to make public the grand jury testimony related to the indictments of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges, amidst ongoing public concern regarding the administration’s management of the situation.
The Justice Department had initially sought permission on July 18 to disclose transcripts of the confidential witness testimony provided years prior in both cases. However, U.S. District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, located in Manhattan, requested that prosecutors furnish more comprehensive legal justifications for this action.
In a pair of court documents submitted just before midnight, federal prosecutors contended that unsealing the records was justified due to the “significant public interest” in the Epstein case and the persistent scrutiny of how it was handled by federal authorities, as reported by Reuters.
The Epstein case has long been a center of conspiracy theories, and in recent months, President Trump has encountered increasing pressure to declassify documents pertaining to the federal investigations into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, according to the official autopsy report. He had entered a plea of not guilty. Maxwell, his longtime associate, was convicted in 2021 on multiple sex trafficking charges and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Florida. She also pleaded not guilty and is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.
Earlier this month, Trump stated that he instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury transcripts in both cases. His announcement followed the Justice Department’s conclusion that Epstein’s death was a suicide and that there was no incriminating client list—a determination that has frustrated many of Trump’s conservative supporters, who suspect a cover-up involving Epstein’s connections to wealthy and influential individuals and believe he may have been murdered while in custody.
Grand juries, which function in secrecy, are assembled by prosecutors to listen to testimony and decide if criminal charges should be initiated. Their proceedings are generally confidential, with only a few exceptions permitting public disclosure, as noted by Reuters.
Even if the judges authorize the release of the transcripts, it remains uncertain whether the documents would disclose new or significant information. A substantial portion of the crucial testimony—including statements from alleged victims, associates of Epstein and Maxwell, and law enforcement officials—was already made public during Maxwell’s four-week trial in 2021, according to the report.
The grand jury transcripts would not include all of the unreleased materials held by the government. Investigators frequently follow leads that do not lead to charges or interview potential witnesses who ultimately do not testify before a grand jury.
On July 23, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida denied the administration’s request to unseal records from Epstein-related grand jury proceedings in 2005 and 2007. The judge determined that the request did not satisfy any of the limited legal exceptions necessary to make such material public.
“Eleventh Circuit [federal appeals court] law does not allow this Court to grant the Government’s request; the Court’s hands are tied—a point the Government acknowledges,” she stated in a 12-page opinion, as reported by Fox News.
This effort was part of a larger demand for transparency regarding Epstein’s sex trafficking network. The grand juries in question convened in 2005 and 2007.
In 2008, Epstein entered a guilty plea to a state-level prostitution charge in Florida as part of a controversial plea deal that was widely criticized for its leniency. He served only 13 months in jail under that agreement.
Last week, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, met with Ghislaine Maxwell over two days to assess whether she could provide information on others involved in criminal activities.