By LARRY NEUMEISTER, MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — Transcripts of the secret grand jury testimony that led to the sex trafficking indictment of Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell won’t be released, a judge decided Monday.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said in a written ruling the government had suggested the materials could be released publicly “casually or promiscuously,” which would risk “unraveling the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised” and eroding confidence by persons called to testify before future grand juries.
“And it is no answer to argue that releasing the grand jury materials, because they are redundant of the evidence at Maxwell’s trial, would be innocuous,” he added.
The judge noted the Justice Department had requested public disclosure of the entire proceedings before the Maxwell grand jury, minus redactions to protect privacy, even though the government had identified no information of consequence in the grand jury record that’s not already public.
Messages for comment were left with the Justice Department and lawyers for Maxwell and women who accused Maxwell and Epstein of abusing them.
Brad Edwards, a Florida lawyer who has represented nearly two dozen Epstein accusers, said: “We do not disagree with the Court’s ruling. Our only concern was that if materials were released, then maximum protection for the victims was essential. The grand jury materials contain very little in the way of evidentiary value anyway.”
Federal prosecutors had asked to unseal the documents, in an effort to calm a whirlpool of suspicions about what the government knows about Epstein, a well-connected financier who died behind bars while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell, a socialite, was later convicted of helping him prey on underage girls.
It’s unclear how much the transcripts would’ve revealed since the Justice Department has acknowledged they contained no testimony from witnesses who weren’t members of law enforcement.
Prosecutors have said much of what was discussed behind the grand jury’s closed doors ultimately became public at Maxwell’s 2021 trial, in victims’ civil lawsuits or in public statements from victims and witnesses. The only grand jury witnesses were law enforcement officers.
The decision about the grand jury transcripts doesn’t affect thousands of other pages the government possesses but has declined to release. The Justice Department has said much of the material was court-sealed to protect victims and little of it would’ve come out if Epstein had gone to trial.
Another federal judge is weighing whether to release the transcripts from the grand jury testimony that led to Epstein’s indictment.
A federal judge in Florida declined to release grand jury documents from an investigation there in 2005 and 2007.
Some Epstein victims supported releasing the grand jury transcripts with some redactions. Other accusers said the debate over the material was causing them anguish.
Maxwell, who’s appealing her conviction, opposed unsealing the documents. Her lawyers said she hasn’t seen them but believed they were full of questionable statements she had no opportunity to challenge.
Maxwell recently was interviewed by the Justice Department and was moved from a prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas. Her attorney says she testified truthfully.
The Epstein saga has again become a national flashpoint six years after authorities said he killed himself. The 66-year-old was facing federal sex trafficking charges involving dozens of young women and teenage girls, some as young as 14.
Epstein already had served jail time and registered as a sex offender after pleading guilty to Florida prostitution offenses in a 2008 deal that let him avoid federal charges at the time.
President Donald Trump later raised questions about Epstein’s death, and Trump allies stoked conspiracy theories that dark secrets were covered up to protect powerful people. Some of those allies got powerful positions in Trump’s Justice Department and promised to pull back the curtain on the Epstein investigation — but then announced this summer nothing more would be released and a long-rumored Epstein “client list” doesn’t exist.
The about-face only amplified the clamor for transparency. After trying unsuccessfully to change the subject and denigrating his own supporters for not moving on, Trump told Attorney General Pam Bondi to ask courts to unseal the grand jury transcripts.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed the Justice Department for files in the case. The committee also issued subpoenas to conduct sworn questioning of former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and eight former top law enforcement officials.
Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was one of Epstein’s many famous former friends, as was Trump, a Republican. Both men have said they knew nothing of Epstein’s crimes until he was charged, and Epstein’s accusers have not alleged any wrongdoing by them.
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