Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Materials Under New Law

The Justice Department filed court documents Monday requesting the unsealing of grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases, citing a newly enacted transparency law that requires the government to make these files public.

In filings to Manhattan federal Judges Richard M. Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton argued that the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump last week, supersedes existing court orders and judicial policies that have kept these materials sealed.

“The Justice Department interprets the transparency act as requiring it to publish the grand jury and discovery materials in this case,” stated the eight-page filings, which also bear the signatures of Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

This move represents one of the first public indications that the Justice Department is working to comply with the new legislation, which mandates the release of Epstein-related files in a searchable and downloadable format by December 19.

The department has requested expedited rulings, arguing that the law overrides existing judicial restrictions. The filings noted that any published materials could be partially redacted to protect sensitive information, such as victims’ identities.

Judge Engelmayer responded Monday evening with an order inviting Maxwell and victims of Maxwell and Epstein to submit responses by December 3. The government must then reply by December 10, with the judge promising to rule “promptly thereafter.”

The transcripts in question contain testimony primarily from law enforcement witnesses. According to previous court statements, the grand jury materials in Epstein’s case amount to approximately 70 pages, along with a PowerPoint presentation and call log. Judge Berman previously noted that the only witness to testify was an FBI agent who “had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case.”

This FBI agent testified on June 18 and July 2, 2019, with the latter session culminating in grand jurors voting to indict Epstein. The financier was arrested four days later on July 6 and was found dead in his jail cell on August 10, 2019.

The same FBI agent testified before Maxwell’s grand jury, which convened in June and July 2020 and again in March 2021. A New York City police detective was the only other witness in that proceeding.

The comprehensive Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the Justice Department, FBI, and federal prosecutors to release all unclassified documents and investigative materials amassed during investigations into Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse of young women and girls. This includes files related to immunity deals and internal communications about charging decisions.

This isn’t the first attempt by the Justice Department to unseal these records. The department initially requested the release in July at Trump’s direction, as the president sought to address criticism after backing away from a campaign promise to open the government’s Epstein files.

Both judges previously denied these requests. In an August 11 decision, Judge Engelmayer ruled that federal law rarely allows for the release of grand jury materials and suggested that the administration’s push for transparency might create an “illusion” rather than genuine disclosure.

After reviewing the transcripts, Engelmayer wrote that anyone familiar with the evidence would “learn next to nothing new” and “would come away feeling disappointed and misled.” He emphasized that the materials “do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor” and “do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s.”

Judge Berman similarly denied the request a week later, concluding that the government already possesses approximately 100,000 pages of Epstein-related files that “dwarf” the grand jury transcripts, which he described as “merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct.”

The case continues to draw significant public interest due to Epstein’s connections to numerous high-profile individuals and the persistent questions surrounding the full extent of his criminal network.