The Trump administration urged two judges to release testimony heard by the grand juries that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges, as the US President seeks to calm an uproar over his administration’s handling of the matter.
The US Justice Department first sought court permission on 18 July to make public transcripts of the confidential testimony given by witnesses years ago in the two cases.
However, Manhattan-based US district judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer asked the US government to flesh out the legal bases for the requests.
In a pair of court filings late last night, prosecutors said unsealing the materials would be appropriate given the “abundant public interest” in the Epstein case and persistent scrutiny of how it was handled by federal law enforcement.
The Epstein case has been at the centre of conspiracy theories for years.
Donald Trump has faced pressure in recent months to make public documents from the federal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell.
Jeffrey Epstein died in prison in 2019
Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019, an autopsy concluded, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges brought by federal prosecutors. He had pleaded not guilty.
Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime partner, was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking charges and is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida.
She had pleaded not guilty and is now asking the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.
Mr Trump said this month he had asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury transcripts in the two cases.
He did so after the Justice Department said it concluded that Epstein died by suicide and that there was no incriminating list of his clients.
The Justice Department’s announcement angered some of Mr Trump’s conservative supporters who believe the government is covering up Epstein’s ties to the rich and powerful and that the financier was murdered in jail.
Grand juries are convened by prosecutors and meet in secret to hear witness testimony and decide whether to indict people suspected of crimes.
Supporters of Donald Trump have been angered by his handling of the case
Records of their proceedings usually remain sealed.
There are only limited circumstances under which such transcripts can be disclosed.
Even if one or both of the judges allow the transcripts to be made public, it is not clear whether the public would learn anything new or noteworthy.
Maxwell’s four-week trial in 2021 included public testimony from alleged sex trafficking victims, associates of Epstein and Maxwell, as well as law enforcement officers.
The transcripts also would not represent all the previously unreleased material in the government’s possession.
Investigators and prosecutors may pursue leads that they cannot substantiate or interview potential witnesses whom they do not ultimately call to testify before a grand jury.
US District Judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida on 23 July denied the administration’s request to unseal records from grand jury investigations in 2005 and 2007 in that state into Epstein.
The judge found that the request did not fall into any of the limited exceptions that may allow for the release of such material.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to a prostitution charge brought under Florida law and was given a 13-month sentence in a deal with prosecutors now widely regarded as too lenient.
Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche, Mr Trump’s former personal lawyer, last week met with Maxwell for two days to see if she had any information about others who had committed crimes.
Maxwell’s lawyer David Markus and Mr Blanche have not provided detailed accounts of their discussions.
