Judge in Florida denies Justice Dept request to release Epstein transcripts

A federal judge in Florida denied the request to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Photo / 123rf

A federal judge has rejected one of the Justice Department’s requests to unseal grand jury transcripts tied to the investigations of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. It is a setback for the Trump administration as it seeks to quell growing frustration over its handling of the case.

US District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg said she was legally barred from releasing the records from Florida grand juries that investigated Epstein in 2005 and 2007, under guidelines governing the secrecy of those proceedings. In a 12-page opinion, she concluded that court rules allow disclosure of such material in only limited circumstances, and the Government’s rationale for unsealing the transcripts – the strong public interest in the Epstein case – was not one of them.

“The court’s hands are tied,” the judge wrote.

Rosenberg acknowledged, however, that the Government had made requests for similar material that remain pending before two federal judges in New York, where federal grand jury secrecy rules are less rigid but still not without significant restrictions. Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell were charged with sex trafficking and other crimes in that state in 2019 and 2020.

Maxwell was convicted the following year. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide.

Rosenberg’s ruling came the same day the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Representative James Comer said he’d arranged for Maxwell to be deposed next month, under a congressional subpoena, from the federal prison in Florida where she is serving a 20-year sentence. Comer’s committee also voted today to subpoena the Justice Department’s Epstein files.

The Justice Department’s requests to unseal grand jury records in court follow weeks of outrage among some in Trump’s base over the department’s conclusion that it had no additional evidence implicating “any additional third parties” in Epstein’s alleged crimes.

The finding ignited a furore among right-wing influencers who felt they’d been primed by Trump and his allies for a series of revelations implicating high-profile accomplices.

Attorney-General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel had vowed to release the Epstein files, only to conclude this month that no further disclosures were warranted. The limited files they’ve released so far have consisted primarily of documents that had already been filed on public court dockets. Those that were new contained little revealing information.

Trump instructed Bondi last week to seek the release of any “credible” information on Epstein, including grand jury transcripts – a directive seen as an attempt to stave off further clamouring for broader transparency among his base.

Grand jury secrecy rules typically prohibit the disclosure of such material, except as part of court-approved judicial proceedings or at the request of a defendant challenging charges through allegations of prosecutorial misconduct before a grand jury.

The judges in New York overseeing the Government’s request to unseal the grand jury transcripts there said Wednesday that the Justice Department had not “adequately addressed” those factors. They asked for further briefing from government lawyers and input from representatives for Epstein and Maxwell as well as their victims.

Though Rosenberg’s rulings pertained to investigations in Florida, Epstein was never indicted on federal charges there. In 2007, he struck a deal with US and state prosecutors allowing him to plead guilty to two felony soliciting charges in state court, including procuring a minor to engage in prostitution. He was sentenced to a year and a half in prison.

Justice Department officials have said they hope to interview Maxwell for more information on anyone else “who has committed crimes against victims”.

Jeremy Roebuck covers the Justice Department and FBI for the Washington Post.