Judge denies DOJ request to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcripts in Florida
The ruling was separate from a request that the Justice Department has pending related to a grand jury in the Southern District of New York, where Epstein was ultimately indicted. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in New York. His accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and is now serving a 20-year sentence.
In the Florida case, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg said that, though the government believes special circumstances exist and the policy reasons for grand jury secrecy have expired, its rationale "are no exceptions" to grand jury secrecy.
The government, Rosenberg wrote, "has effectively conceded that the Court's hands are tied" because of the Eleventh Circuit law.
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BreakingNews.ie
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Epstein and Maxwell grand juries ‘did not hear directly from victims'
The federal grand juries that indicted Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on sex-trafficking charges did not hear directly from any of the alleged victims in the case, Justice Department officials have said. The claim came in support of the Justice Department's request to unseal transcripts of the usually secret proceedings. Just two witnesses gave evidence to the panel and both were law enforcement officials, the officials said. Advertisement In a court filing late on Tuesday, the officials again urged the court to release the records, citing huge public interest, and sought to assure judges that making them public would not harm victims of the couple's crimes. While the memo did not detail what was in the grand jury evidence, it dampened expectations that the transcripts would contain new revelations, saying that 'certain aspects and subject matters' contained in them became public during Maxwell's trial in 2021 and that other details have been made public through many years of civil lawsuits filed by victims. Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein (US Department of Justice/PA) The Justice Department described the grand jury witnesses in response to questions from two judges who would have to approve the release of the transcripts. Grand jury transcripts are rarely released by courts unless they need to be disclosed in connection with a judicial proceeding. The papers filed on Tuesday cite a 1997 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said judges have wide discretion and public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information. Advertisement The Epstein grand jury heard from just one witness, an FBI agent, when it met in June and July 2019, the government disclosed. The Maxwell grand jury heard from the same FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and March 2021, according to the submission. It is not unusual for law enforcement officials to be the only witnesses before grand juries, which have a limited role and do not need to decide whether a person is guilty of a crime. The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and included the names of attorney general Pam Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. The request to unseal the transcripts came after the Justice Department enraged parts of President Donald Trump's base of supporters when it announced in early July that it would not be making public any more investigative files related to Epstein, who was accused of paying under-age girls for sexual acts. Advertisement The decision not to make additional materials public shocked some Trump supporters because members of his administration had hyped the expected release and stoked conspiracies around the well-connected financier. Epstein killed himself in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges, but his case has generated attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Mr Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 conviction for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Last week, she sat for interviews with Justice Department officials in Florida, answering questions 'about 100 different people', her lawyer said. Maxwell was being interviewed because of Mr Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes, the deputy attorney general said. Advertisement Donald Trump (Christopher Furlong/AP) Mr Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago, but he faces ongoing questions about the case. When reporters last week pressed the Republican president about possibly pardoning Maxwell, he deflected, emphasising his administration's successes. After the request to unseal grand jury records, two former prosecutors in Manhattan told the Associated Press the transcripts would be relatively short and contain only the evidence of law enforcement witnesses talking about evidence that tracks information in the indictments. The court memorandum filed on Tuesday said many of the victims whose accounts of being exploited by Epstein and Maxwell were discussed before the grand jury by the FBI agent and the NYPD detective later gave evidence at Maxwell's public trial. The government said no Epstein or Maxwell family members have come forward to express an interest in the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts, although Maxwell has indicated she will file a position with the court. Advertisement The memorandum says the request to unseal the transcripts is 'consistent with increasing calls for additional disclosures in this matter'. 'There is undoubtedly a clearly expressed interest from the public in Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes,' it says. 'Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes.' Under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avoid a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release programme. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender. He was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.
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Epstein and Maxwell grand juries ‘heard from only two law enforcement witnesses'
In a filing in Manhattan federal court, in support of its request to unseal grand jury transcripts, officials describe the grand jury witnesses in a memorandum in response to a call from judges presiding over both cases to provide more details about their request earlier this month. Judges would have to approve any request to unseal records. Grand jury transcripts are rarely released by courts unless they need to be disclosed in connection with a judicial proceeding. The papers filed late on Tuesday cite a 1997 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said judges have wide discretion and public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information. The Epstein grand jury heard only from an FBI agent when it met in June and July 2019, while the Maxwell grand jury heard from the same FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and March 2021, according to the submission. The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and included the names of attorney general Pam Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. The request to unseal the transcripts came after the Justice Department enraged parts of President Donald Trump's base of supporters when it announced in early July it would not make public any more Epstein files. The decision not to make additional materials public shocked some Trump supporters because members of his administration had hyped the expected release and stoked conspiracies around Epstein. The well-connected financier and convicted sex abuser killed himself in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges, officials say, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Mr Trump. British socialite Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 conviction for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Last week, she sat for interviews with Justice Department officials in Florida, answering questions 'about 100 different people', her lawyer said. Maxwell was being interviewed because of Mr Trump's directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes, the deputy attorney general said. The president has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago, but he faces ongoing questions about the case. When reporters pressed Mr Trump last week about possibly pardoning Maxwell, he deflected, emphasising his administration's successes. After the request to unseal grand jury records, two former prosecutors in Manhattan told the Associated Press the transcripts would be relatively short and contain only the testimony of law enforcement witnesses talking about evidence that tracks information in the indictments. In its filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department further dampened expectations that the grand jury transcripts would contain new revelations when it said 'certain aspects and subject matters' in them became public during Maxwell's trial. The memorandum said many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell came up in grand jury testimony gave evidence at trial consistent with what was described by the FBI agent and the NYPD detective and some information was made public through civil litigation. The government said no Epstein or Maxwell family members have come forward to express an interest in the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts, although Maxwell has indicated she will file a position with the court. Under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release programme. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender. He was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
DoJ pushes for release of Epstein and Maxwell grand jury transcripts
Transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that led to the sex trafficking indictments of the sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, British socialiate Ghislaine Maxwell, include the testimony of just two law enforcement witnesses, the Department of Justice has said, as it argues for the documents' release. Top justice department officials disclosed in a filing late on Tuesday in New York City federal court that separate grand juries convened to consider the criminal investigations of Epstein and Maxwell, and had heard from only two witnesses. The revelation was made in the course of court wrangling over whether the transcripts of the proceedings should be unsealed, amid the continuing furor over the Epstein scandal which has roiled Donald Trump's second term. The Trump administration is urging the two federal judges who presided over the Epstein and Maxwell grand juries, Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, to release the testimony, in an attempt to calm the uproar. The Trump administration has come under intense pressure from the president's own base of supporters who were infuriated by the justice department's decision not to release any additional Epstein files about the late, disgraced financier's crimes involving the sex trafficking of girls. The decision jarred with the previous stance of senior administration figures, including Trump himself and the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, who had hyped the expected release of more details of the New York financier's businesses, travels and associations, including a possible list of his financial clients, which all further stoked conspiracies around the well-connected Epstein. Tuesday's submission states that the grand jury tasked with considering the criminal case against Epstein heard only from an FBI agent when it met in June and July 2019. A similar grand jury for Maxwell heard from the same FBI agent and a New York police department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and in March 2021. The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, US attorney for the southern district of New York, and included the names of Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche. Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, officials say, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell's links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Trump. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein in the sexual trafficking of minors. She was convicted in December 2021 on charges that she lured teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein. Last week, she sat for two sets of interviews with justice department officials, including Blanche, in Florida, where she is serving her time in a federal prison, and answered questions 'about 100 different people', her attorney said. Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case.. On Tuesday, Trump spoke about connections between Epstein and the president's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. He claimed he evicted the financier from the resort because Epstein 'stole' young female staffers from him, including Virginia Giuffre who went on to be a key witness against Epstein and Maxwell. Giuffre died in April. Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress but with conditions, including being granted immunity. Her lawyer has written to the House committee which has subpoenaed her saying that a deposition without immunity would be a 'non-starter'. The justice department memorandum says unsealing the transcripts is 'consistent with increasing calls for additional disclosures in this matter'. The Associated Press contributed reporting
