US judge rejects DOJ bid to unseal Epstein grand jury records

WASHINGTON: A federal judge has denied a request by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, CNN reported.

Judge Richard Berman said that the Justice Department failed to overcome long-standing precedent that keeps grand jury materials sealed, stressing that the sealed records were minimal compared to the broader investigation files already held by the DOJ.

“The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice,” Judge Berman wrote in his order. According to CNN, the DOJ declined to comment on the ruling.

The decision comes at a time when the Trump administration has faced growing political and public pressure to release more documents related to Epstein, especially after senior officials had earlier promised greater transparency.

Berman, however, suggested the DOJ should make broader disclosures instead of pursuing narrow grand jury releases, writing, “The Government is a logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession.”

Earlier this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi distributed binders on Epstein’s case to right-wing social media influencers at the White House, but the material was criticised for lacking new revelations.

By May, the DOJ began reversing its earlier promises to release further documents, a shift that coincided with Bondi reportedly alerting former President Donald Trump that his name appeared in the files, CNN reported. On July 7, the DOJ issued an unsigned memorandum stating it would not release any more Epstein-related documents.

The move, described by critics as opaque, has provoked frustration not only among Democrats but also members of Trump’s political base, who accuse the department of undermining public trust by withholding information.

This is the third time a judge has ruled against the Department of Justice. Earlier DOJ asked two federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury materials in Epstein’s case and Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. Maxwell is Epstein’s long-time partner who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for running a scheme with Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls.

On August 11, a New York federal Judge, Paul Engelmayer, rejected the Justice Department’s request, saying that the premise of the DOJ’s argument was false and that the request was not a matter of public interest, CNN reported.

The Justice Department also requested the unsealing of grand jury materials from a federal court in Florida, and a judge swiftly denied the request, CNN reported.

Epstein, a financier with wide-reaching political and social ties, was arrested in 2019 on sex trafficking charges involving minors. He died the same year in a Manhattan jail cell, a death officially ruled as suicide, though the case continues to fuel controversy over the extent of his network and the role of powerful figures. (ANI)