Judge Orders Release of Epstein Case Grand Jury Transcripts

AP Photo/John Minchillo, File

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman granted a Justice Department motion on Wednesday to release secret grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case. Judge Berman reversed his previous decision, citing the new law compelling the release of all material in the case.

Judge Berman’s ruling comes after two other judges reversed course to unseal similar material related to Epstein investigations earlier in the month, also citing the new law which passed the House in November and was signed into law by President Donald Trump. House GOP leadership opposed the bill to compel the release the of the so-called Epstein files and it only finally received a vote after a discharge petition received enough signatures to bring it to the House floor. The discharge petition waited additional weeks for a newly elected Democrat to be sworn into office following a special election.

A federal judge in New York City ordered the release of all records from Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking case on Tuesday, citing the same law. Maxwell, widely viewed as Epstein’s accomplice, is currently serving a lengthy sentence for sex trafficking, but was moved to a nicer facility and has received perks since meeting with Trump’s number two at the DOJ, Todd Blanche.  

In mid-November, both House Democrats and House Republicans released a tranche of materials from the Epstein Estate, which the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed. The materials included emails in which Trump was mentioned in very unflattering ways. One such email, which was released by the GOP, showed Epstein saying he knew “how dirty Donald is,” while another said Trump “knew about the girls.”

This is a developing story and has been updated.