A US judge has rejected the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury materials tied to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge Paul Engelmayer denied a request from the US Justice Department to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking case. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes tied to Epstein.
The judge said unsealing the materials in Maxwell’s case was not a matter of significant historical or public interest.
“Its entire premise – that the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaningful new information about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes, or the (US) government’s investigation into them – is demonstrably false,” Engelmayer wrote in his decision.
“A member of the public familiar with the Maxwell trial record who reviewed the grand jury materials that the government proposes to unseal would thus learn next to nothing new.”
In July, US President Donald Trump directed US Attorney-General Pam Bondi to produce “pertinent” testimony tied to the Epstein case.
During his presidential election campaign last year, Trump promised to release files relating to Epstein, who died in 2019 in a New York prison cell in what was officially labelled a suicide.
Despite official findings, Epstein’s death led to wild speculation – especially in right-wing circles of US society – because the disgraced financier had excellent contacts in US high society.
The FBI has reaffirmed that Epstein’s death was a suicide and said no evidence implicated other high-profile individuals or pointed to a “list” of powerful clients.
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