New York judge denies release of Epstein-related grand jury transcript
A federal judge in New York denied the Justice Department’s request to release grand jury transcripts from the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, on Monday. The ruling cited that the circumstances of the case do not merit breaking the secrecy of grand jury proceedings.
The Justice Department has asked three federal judges who oversaw parts of the Epstein and Maxwell cases to release grand jury transcripts amid the public furor over the Trump administration’s decision this year not to release any more information from the Epstein files.
So far the requests, two in New York and one in Florida, have not yielded the release of any transcripts. A judge in Florida has already rejected the request, and another request to a judge in New York, who is overseeing Epstein’s legal proceedings, is pending.
“Granting the Government’s motion would bloat the ‘special circumstances’ doctrine, which to date has warranted disclosure in only a tiny number of cases, all involving unique testimony by firsthand witnesses to events of obvious public or historical moment,” U.S. District Judge Paul E. A. Engelmayer wrote in his opinion Monday.
Grand jury transcripts are the records from witnesses whom federal prosecutors interview in front of grand jurors as they try to make the case that there is ample evidence to bring criminal charges against a suspect. The grand jurors use that witness testimony and evidence to vote on whether there is sufficient evidence to charge someone.
Grand juries are typically kept secret, and a judge agreeing to release the transcripts would be highly unusual.
Maxwell’s attorneys had opposed the release of the transcripts.
See also:
Ghislaine Maxwell urges Supreme Court to hear appeal, says DOJ wants to distract
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