Judge Denies DOJ Bid to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts

A federal judge in New York on Wednesday denied the Justice Department’s bid to unseal grand jury transcripts from the Epstein sex trafficking case, rejecting the government’s argument that releasing the materials served a public interest. The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan, held that the grand jury materials add little new information beyond what the government already possesses and that the proceedings involved were unusually narrow. The ruling preserves the secrecy of the early stages of the case and leaves most associated exhibits sealed.

Judge Berman described the Epstein grand jury materials as a small matter in the context of the broader Epstein files held by the Department of Justice. The records sought included roughly 70 pages of transcripts from two grand jury presentations, a PowerPoint exhibit and a call log. The grand jury heard from a single witness, an FBI agent who did not have direct knowledge of the facts and whose testimony was largely hearsay. The judge noted that no victims testified before the grand jury and that the rest of the presentation consisted of slides and a log, all of which will remain sealed.