Federal judges in Florida and New York have denied requests by the Department of Justice and Ghislaine Maxwell to have the grand jury testimonies in Jeffrey Epstein's case unsealed.
On Friday night, the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi took steps to have the testimony against Epstein unsealed as "a matter of public interest."
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According to court documents obtained by the New York Times, Judge Robin Rosenberg claimed that the Florida court's "hands are tied."
Well that was fast: Now Florida judge denies DOJ motion to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury transcripts - this while 2 SDNY judges have set up a briefing schedule for statements by victims. Maximum Maxwell: https://t.co/vHLVYhGe6u https://t.co/BVpJidNBrl pic.twitter.com/wSNwOoLhgp
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) July 23, 2025
The court documents read:
For the reasons set forth below. Eleventh Circuit law does not permit this Court to grant the Government's request; the Court's hands are tied, a point that the Government concedes.
The Government initiated the matter before the Court by filing the United States' Petition to Unseal Grand Jury Transcripts on July 18, 2025, and the Government's Response to the Court's Order on Supplemental Briefing (hereinafter "Supp. Br.") on July 20, 2025 (together, the "Petition". Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6, the Government requests that the transcripts related to grand jury investigations 05-02 (WPB) and 07-103 (WPB) (the "Florida
Federal Grand Jury Proceedings*) be unsealed "subject to appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information." Pet. at 1.
Shortly after the Florida ruling, New York Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer also denied Ghislaine Maxwell's motion to obtain access to her grand jury transcripts.
Update: Ghislaine Maxwell's request to see her grand jury transcripts, even with DOJ's Todd Blanche agreeing to it, is denied just now by SDNY Judge Engelmayer. Maximum Maxwell: https://t.co/vHLVYhGe6u https://t.co/BVpJidNBrl pic.twitter.com/cbNPdZ6Jit
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) July 23, 2025
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The court document read:
The Court has received a motion by counsel for defendant Ghislaine Maxwell seeking access to grand jury transcripts in her case. Dkt. 793. The stated basis of that motion is to enable Maxwell to comment on the Government's pending motion to unseal these transcripts, Dkt. 785, as to which the Court has ordered expedited briefing, Dkt. 789.
The Court denies Maxwell's motion. It is black-letter law that defendants generally are not entitled to access to grand jury materials … Post-trial motions by defendants seeking such access are almost invariably denied, for failure to make a showing of compelling necessity.
Judge Engelmayer has not yet ruled on the DOJ's request to unseal the transcripts, but has indicated that he "intends to resolve this motion expeditiously," while asking for additional submissions from the DOJ, Maxwell, and the victims
The Friday filing, signed by Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, came after the Wall Street Journal's "exclusive" report on Thursday involving Trump and Epstein. As my colleague Joe Cunningham reported, the "scoop" involved a "bawdy" birthday card allegedly sent by Trump to Epstein back in 2003 for his 50th birthday.
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