NEW YORK (BN24) — A federal judge Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case, delivering a significant blow to government efforts to release records from investigations into the late financier’s sexual abuse of young women and girls.
Judge Richard Berman, who presided over Epstein’s 2019 case, issued his ruling one week after another Manhattan federal judge turned down the government’s request to release transcripts from the grand jury that indicted Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell on related charges.
The decision appears to foreclose the possibility of federal courts releasing Epstein-related grand jury testimony, barring reversal on appeal. A federal judge in Florida previously declined to release grand jury documents from investigations conducted there in 2005 and 2007, though some material from a state case against Epstein was made public last year.
The rulings represent a resounding rejection of the Justice Department’s effort to unlock the sealed records, a move the Republican administration pursued amid intense criticism over its refusal to release a massive collection of documents in its possession related to the case.
Both Berman and Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who handled Maxwell’s case, indicated in their rulings that the grand jury transcripts contain limited information unlikely to satisfy enormous public interest in the high-profile case. Berman characterized the government’s request as a “diversion” from more substantial records available.
President Donald Trump had called for the release of transcripts amid speculation and criticism about his past association with Epstein. During his presidential campaign, Trump promised to release files related to Epstein but faced criticism, including from supporters, when the Justice Department released only a small number of records lacking significant new revelations.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the ruling Wednesday.
Each judge who rejected the unsealing requests cited longstanding grand jury secrecy rules and concluded the government failed to meet extraordinary legal exceptions that could justify making the records public under federal law.
The judges also noted that the Justice Department possesses extensive records related to Epstein that fall outside grand jury secrecy protections. Berman wrote that information contained in approximately 70 pages of Epstein grand jury transcripts “pales in comparison to the Epstein investigative information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice,” which he said totals around 100,000 pages.
“The Government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein Files,” Berman wrote, appearing to reference the Justice Department’s refusal to release additional records. He said the request to release grand jury records “appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession.”
Berman noted that the Justice Department informed him the only witness to testify before the Epstein grand jury in 2019 was an FBI agent who “had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case and whose testimony was mostly hearsay.” The remainder of the grand jury presentation consisted of a PowerPoint slideshow and a call log, according to court documents.
Last year, a Florida judge unsealed approximately 150 pages of transcripts from grand jury proceedings that led to Epstein’s indictment on state charges there in 2006, providing limited public insight into earlier investigations.
Maxwell, a British socialite and publishing heiress, is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. She was recently transferred from a Florida prison to a prison camp in Texas. Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Public focus on Maxwell’s case has intensified since the Justice Department announced last month it would not release additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. The decision angered online investigators, conspiracy theorists and elements of Trump’s political base who hoped to find evidence of a government cover-up.
Since then, officials in Trump’s Republican administration have attempted to position themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including through requests to unseal grand jury transcripts.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently interviewed Maxwell at a Florida courthouse. The House Oversight Committee has also expressed interest in questioning Maxwell, with her attorneys indicating openness to an interview contingent on immunity from prosecution.
In correspondence with Maxwell’s lawyers, Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer wrote that the panel was willing to delay any deposition until after resolution of Maxwell’s appeal to the Supreme Court, expected in late September. Comer stated that while Maxwell’s testimony was “vital” to the Republican-led investigation into Epstein, the committee would not provide immunity or advance questions for her testimony.
