Jeffrey Epstein Case: US judge rejects DOJ bid to unseal Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury materials, calls request misguided

Engelmayer noted that much of the information was already public, having been presented during Maxwell’s 2021 trial, and described the sought-after testimony as “garden-variety” statements from two law enforcement agents

A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s bid to unseal grand jury materials from the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case, delivering a sharp rebuke to the Justice Department’s arguments.

The DOJ had sought to make public grand jury testimony and exhibits from cases involving Jeffrey Epstein in New York. However, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that releasing the materials from Maxwell’s case was neither of “significant historical” nor “public interest.”

“The Court therefore denies the Government’s motion to unseal at the threshold,” Engelmayer wrote in his opinion. “Contrary to the Government’s depiction, the Maxwell grand jury testimony is not a matter of significant historical or public interest. Far from it.”

Engelmayer noted that much of the information was already public, having been presented during Maxwell’s 2021 trial, and described the sought-after testimony as “garden-variety” statements from two law enforcement agents. He further suggested the government was unfamiliar with the trial record, pointing out that details it claimed were secret had in fact been discussed in open court.

The DOJ had recently asked both judges handling its unsealing requests in the Maxwell and Epstein cases to hold off on rulings until August 14 to allow victims to be notified if their names appeared in transcripts or exhibits. Judge Richard Berman, who is considering the DOJ’s request in Epstein’s case, has yet to issue a decision.