Judge Denies Trump DOJ’s Request to Release Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
A federal judge in Florida on Wednesday rejected an effort by the Trump administration to unseal grand jury transcripts from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s attempt to quiet growing backlash from his base.
The denial comes after the Justice Department filed a motion last week requesting the release of the grand jury materials and a transfer of the case to New York, where Epstein was indicted in 2019 following a grand jury probe.
The department argued that the release was in the public interest and would promote transparency, as Trump and the entirety of his administration remain under pressure to release further details surrounding the convicted sex offender’s trial. Critics of the move argued at the time that the grand jury documents would only offer partial information on the case and that a judge would be likely to deny the request, which may be Trump’s tactic in trying to shift blame away from his administration for the files remaining sealed.
Judge Robin L. Rosenberg wrote that the court’s “hands are tied.” She noted that the government had not requested the transcripts for use in a judicial proceeding, as district courts are usually not allowed to unseal grand jury testimony, except in “narrow circumstances.”
Both the President and Attorney General Pam Bondi initially pledged to release additional records, with Bondi going as far as to give binders labeled “Epstein Files: Phase 1” to right-wing influencers at the White House in late February.
Yet a July 6 joint memo issued by the FBI and the Justice Department stated the public should not expect further information on Epstein. Trump went on to call the idea of a client list “a hoax.”
There has been no shortage of pushback from the MAGA world over Trump’s course reversal, with some claiming Trump’s unwillingness to release Epstein’s client list is related to his well-documented friendship with the disgraced financier.
While Judge Rosenberg denied the request to unseal grand jury testimony, she asked that a new case be created, “in the public interest,” to provide public access to the government’s request and the subsequent denial order.
