Justice Department Again Seeks Release of Epstein Grand Jury Materials in Florida

As the Justice Department faces a 30-day deadline to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, government lawyers have again asked a federal court in Florida to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the initial federal investigation of Epstein, citing this week’s passage of the Epstein Transparency Act. by Congress.

“Public production of the grand jury material is therefore required,” the DOJ wrote in Friday’s filing, noting that the grand jury material is not “exempt” from the law.

The law requires the government to make available to the public “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials,” but contains there is no specific mention of the grand jury material.

When you make your request in On Nov. 21, Justice Department lawyers asked the court to rule quickly to allow them to meet the 30-day deadline. established by the Epstein files bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate and 427 to 1 in the House.

The new request relates to federal grand jury transcripts from 2005 and 2007, during Epstein’s first federal investigation in Florida.

The Justice Department also asked the court to lift the protective order on the case, adding that it will work to “make appropriate edits to personally identifiable information related to the victims and other personally identifiable information.”

The new request comes after the Justice Department previously asked courts in New York and Florida over the summer to release grand jury material in cases involving both Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Those requests came amid outrage over the administration’s handling of the Epstein matter, after the Justice Department released a memo saying there was no evidence that Epstein maintained a “client list” with whom he blackmailed or conspired and confirming that he committed suicide while in custody in his Manhattan cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Previous requests to release grand jury information were ultimately denied by judges.

Maxwell, who has consistently denied wrongdoing, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Texas for child sex trafficking and other Epstein-related crimes.