Judge grants request to unseal Epstein grand jury records

New York: A judge on Wednesday granted the Justice Department’s latest request to unseal records of the federal grand jury investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in the wake of a new law requiring the department to release all its Epstein files by Dec 19.

The decision by Judge Richard M Berman of U.S. District Court in Manhattan came one day after another judge granted a similar request in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who conspired with Epstein in his sex-trafficking scheme.

The two rulings could lead to the most expansive and revealing look yet at the federal investigations of Epstein and Maxwell. The judges’ orders cover not only grand jury transcripts but also a large trove of other investigative materials that were provided to defense lawyers in the discovery process and kept confidential for years under court protective orders.

Berman, in a four-page order, said he was granting the government’s motion “in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and with the unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identity and privacy protected.”

“Clearly victims’ safety and privacy are paramount,” Berman added.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress last month, requires that the materials be released with redactions to protect victims’ names and other identifying information.

This past summer, Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer, the judge in Maxwell’s case, each denied a request by Attorney General Pam Bondi for the Epstein and Maxwell grand jury materials, citing grand jury secrecy.

In again seeking the unsealing of the records last month, Bondi broadened her request to include the materials under the court protective orders. She also asked the judges to expedite their rulings given the deadline set by the new law.

That request, submitted by Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, was signed by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Epstein was indicted on sex-trafficking charges in July 2019 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan; he was found dead in his jail cell the following month, while awaiting trial, and his death was ruled a suicide.

Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 of sex trafficking conspiracy, sex trafficking a minor and other counts after a monthlong trial.

During her trial, prosecutors presented testimony and evidence portraying Maxwell as a sophisticated predator who had groomed vulnerable young women and girls as young as 14 years old for abuse by Epstein. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.