Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell together in 2005 in New York. Photo / Getty Images
A federal judge today ordered the public release of potentially hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, saying that access to the records is required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act that Congress approved last month.
United States District Judge Paul Engelmayer said the new law also covers grand jury testimony as well as “voluminous” other records from the case, including evidence that was not used at Maxwell’s trial.
Before release, the Justice Department must redact information that could identify victims of Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy sex offender whom Maxwell was convicted of assisting, the judge wrote.
US Attorney Jay Clayton in New York will have to determine what redactions are appropriate, Engelmayer ordered.
The Manhattan US attorney’s office, “having led the successful investigation and prosecution of Maxwell, and having amassed the discovery in this case and furnished it to the defence, is best situated to identify, and properly redact or withhold, victim related information” contained in the Maxwell case file, Engelmayer wrote.
Clayton must “personally certify, in a sworn declaration filed on the docket of this case, that such records have been rigorously reviewed for compliance” with provisions of the new law that require protecting victims’ identities, Clayton wrote.
The Justice Department has also asked a federal judge in New York to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted Epstein on sex-trafficking charges in 2019. That request is still pending.
A third federal judge, in Miami, last week ordered release of transcripts from the grand jury that investigated Epstein from 2005 to 2007.
Epstein died on August 10, 2019, while in custody awaiting trial, a month after his indictment was unsealed. His death was ruled a suicide.
The grand jury proceedings in New York that led to Maxwell’s indictment were limited. The panel heard testimony from only two law enforcement witnesses at proceedings that lasted one day, according to court filings.
By contrast, records compiled during the pretrial process known as discovery, which were provided to Maxwell’s defence team, amount to many thousands of pages.
In addition to removing information that might allow victims to be identified, the law allows the Justice Department to withhold information that might interfere with an existing investigation.
Attorney-General Pam Bondi recently directed Clayton to investigate ties between Epstein and some prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton. It is unclear if any files will be withheld from the public because of that investigation.
Bondi assigned the case to Clayton apparently in response to a social media post from US President Donald Trump.
Trump called for an investigation into Epstein’s ties to Clinton, former Treasury secretary Larry Summers and tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, who has been a major Democratic donor.
He also declared a need to investigate JPMorgan Chase, where Epstein had business, and “many other people and institutions”.
Trump has often objected to the way that his relationship with Epstein has received more public attention than Epstein’s ties to those figures.
Trump has said that he knew Epstein socially in Palm Beach, Florida, and that they had a falling-out in the mid-2000s, which Trump has attributed to a real estate deal and to Epstein hiring employees away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club. A White House spokeswoman recently said Epstein was ejected from the club for “for being a creep” to female workers there.
Trump has not been accused of participating in Epstein’s criminal conduct. Epstein wrote in an email to himself on February 1, 2019, that Trump “knew about the girls”.
“Trump knew of it. and came to my house many times during that period,” Epstein wrote in one message, adding that “he never got a massage”. The emails were among many that a House committee released last month.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and was sentenced to 18 months incarceration.
He was released from a local jail after about a year. In the years since, the deal has prompted outrage by victims and advocates who called the sentence too easy on Epstein and an injustice.
Maxwell, a longtime romantic partner to Epstein, was convicted in federal court in Manhattan in late 2021 for her role in trafficking girls. Prosecutors argued Maxwell was Epstein’s top enabler, finding young, vulnerable victims.
The former socialite and businesswoman, who had social ties to many prominent men, has been a focal point in the latest push for transparency in matters related to Epstein and his associates.
Maxwell has been blamed for facilitating sexual encounters between late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre and former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Giuffre, who was considered a victim in the case against Maxwell, died by suicide in April.
The allegations related to the former prince were not part of Maxwell’s criminal case. New York prosecutors attempted to interview Mountbatten-Windsor, who was recently stripped of his titles, but he declined. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied taking part in abuse.
Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche personally interviewed Maxwell this year. Maxwell was transferred to a lower-security, more comfortable Federal Bureau of Prisons facility after the sessions with Blanche.
Earlier this year, Engelmayer and another Manhattan judge denied requests by the Justice Department to unseal grand jury materials related to Epstein and Maxwell before the Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed.
Grand jury minutes and related documents are generally secret unless they become part of public filings or are made public at trial.
Engelmayer received letters from victims and their representatives who expressed mixed positions on whether to grant the Government’s request to unseal the documents.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.