Judge denies DOJ request to release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcripts

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits in the Jeffrey Epstein case.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman found the government had not reached the high bar necessary to unseal the transcripts – and suggested there was not much there anyway.

“A significant and compelling reason to reject the Government’s position in this litigation is that the Government has already undertaken a comprehensive investigation into the Epstein case and, not surprisingly, has assembled a ‘trove’ of Epstein documents, interviews and exhibits,” Berman wrote.

“The government’s 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials,” the ruling said, adding the government’s motion “appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession.”

The grand jury testimony, the judge said, is “a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s conduct” delivered by an “FBI agent who had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case.”

Two other judges have also denied the Justice Department’s bid to unseal grand jury records – one involving an earlier case in Florida and the other in the case involving Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the DOJ for the investigative file, and the department has said it will begin turning documents over to the committee on Friday.