Judge Orders Release of Epstein 2019 Grand Jury Files

A federal judge in New York ordered the release of grand jury transcripts and related materials from the 2019 sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday, marking a significant step toward greater public disclosure under a new transparency law. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan applies to approximately 70 pages of documents from the case against the late financier, who died by suicide while awaiting trial.

Berman's decision reversed his earlier stance on maintaining secrecy for the materials, citing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed last month and President Donald Trump signed into law. The act mandates that the Department of Justice disclose all unclassified records related to federal investigations of Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell by December 19, with required redactions to protect victims' identities. "The Court hereby grants the government's motion in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and with the unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identity and privacy protected," Berman wrote in his four-page order. He emphasized that "victims' safety and privacy are...