Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records to remain sealed, US judge rules
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Judge Richard Berman said the material paled in comparison to the trove of records the government has about the case but is not releasing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Judge Berman denied the Justice Department's request to unseal Jeffrey Epstein's grand jury records, deeming them less valuable than the department's existing 100,000 pages of files.
- The Justice Department, under pressure from President Trump, sought to release the records, but judges have denied similar requests in New York and Florida.
- Other judges cited concerns about revealing grand jury proceedings and that much of the material had already been publicised in the Maxwell trial.
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NEW YORK - A US judge denied on Aug 20 the Justice Department’s bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges, saying the material paled in comparison to the trove of records the government has about the case but is not releasing.
Manhattan-based US District Judge Richard Berman’s decision came as President Donald Trump has sought to quell discontent from his conservative base of supporters over his administration’s decision not to release files of the case.
The judge wrote that it would be more logical for the government to directly release the vast amount of information it has collected from its investigation into Epstein than to petition the court to release the more limited grand jury materials, whose secrecy is protected by law.
“The Government’s 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials,” Judge Berman wrote.
“The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Trump, a Republican, had campaigned for a second term in 2024 with promises to make public Epstein-related files, and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list
Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval.
In July, Mr Trump instructed Attorney-General Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein’s case.
The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department said in a court filing in July.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty.
His death in jail and his friendships with the wealthy and powerful sparked conspiracy theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes and that he was murdered. The New York City chief medical examiner determined that Epstein’s death was a suicide by hanging.
On Aug 11, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied a similar request by the Justice Department to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime girlfriend. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence
Judge Engelmayer wrote that the public would not learn anything new from the release of materials from Maxwell’s grand jury because much of the evidence was made public at her month-long trial four years earlier. The grand jury testimony contained no evidence of others besides Epstein and Maxwell who had sexual contact with minors, Judge Engelmayer wrote.
Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she has asked the US Supreme Court to review her case.
In July, a Florida judge rejected the administration’s request to unseal grand jury records from federal investigations there into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. Epstein served a 13-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to a state-level prostitution charge as part of a deal now widely regarded as too lenient. REUTERS
