A federal judge denied the Trump administration’s request to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury materials on Wednesday, calling it a “diversion.”
Judge Richard Berman, a Clinton appointee, noted the testimony “is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct” in his 14-page ruling.
“The Government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein Files,” he wrote. “By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government’s possession.”
Two federal judges previously rejected efforts to unseal transcripts in Epstein’s Florida case and Ghislaine Maxwell’s case. The Department of Justice (DOJ) petitioned to unseal the transcripts in July following a directive from President Donald Trump.
The DOJ declined to comment.
A DOJ memo released to Axios on July 6, which stated Epstein had no client list and died by suicide, sparked backlash from the president’s base.
Berman indicated keeping the transcript under seal could also be important to prevent “possible threats to victims’ privacy and safety.”
“Of significant concern, the same government that failed to provide notice to the victims before moving this Court to unseal the grand jury materials is now the government representing to this Court that it has provided appropriate notice to the victims or their counsel and has conducted a proper review and redaction of the materials it seeks to release,” attorneys for several victims wrote in an Aug. 5 letter to Berman. “Several clients have contacted us expressing deep anxiety over whether the redactions were in fact adequate.”
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer, who subpoenaed the DOJ for Epstein records on Aug. 5, said the DOJ “will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday.”
“There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” he said in a Monday statement. “I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter.”
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