US judge rules Epstein jury records to remain sealed

Perth Now

a day ago

A US judge has denied the Justice Department's bid to unseal records from a grand jury that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges.
Manhattan-based US District Judge Richard Berman's decision came as President Donald Trump tries to quell discontent from his supporters over his administration's handling of the case.
Trump, a Republican, had promised to make public Epstein-related files if re-elected 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 did not exist, angering Trump's supporters.
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.
Trump in July 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 Investigations, the Justice Department said in a court filing in July.
The agent testified over two days, on June 18 and July 2, 2019, according to Berman's ruling.
The rest of the grand jury presentation consisted of a PowerPoint slideshow shown during the June 18 session and a call log shown during the July 2 session, which ended with grand jurors voting to indict Epstein.
Both of those will also remain sealed, Berman ruled.
Epstein died in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
New York City's medical examiner called the death a suicide.
Epstein had pleaded not guilty.
His death in jail and his friendships with the wealthy and powerful sparked theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes and that he was murdered.
On August 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 following her 2021 conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse.
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 ago.
The grand jury testimony contained no evidence of others besides Epstein and Maxwell who had sexual contact with minors, 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.
with AP