The Justice Department told two federal judges Friday it wants to release grand jury exhibits in the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, in addition to transcripts, with “appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information.”
The filing, signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Southern District of New York US Attorney Jay Clayton, is the latest in the Trump administration’s efforts to release grand jury materials in the cases as it faces mounting pressure to release the so-called Epstein Files.
However, it’s unclear how much information in the grand jury transcripts and evidence is already not in the public sphere.
President Donald Trump has faced continued backlash from his own party, Democrats and the public on the lack of transparency around releasing the files. The Justice Department released an unsigned memo on July 7 on the files, saying they did not plan to release more information and that a “client list” did not exist. CNN reported recently that Bondi had briefed Trump on the files in May and that his name appeared several times.
While many of the victims told the courts this week they did not directly oppose the release of materials, many requested severe redactions in order to protect their identities. Victims also said that they were being used in “political warfare” by the Trump administration.
Maxwell’s attorneys opposed the release of grand jury materials in a filing earlier this week. Her attorneys argued that her legal interests in her own case should come before the public’s interests in the Epstein files.
Friday’s filing comes after two federal judges in New York, Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, requested clarification from the Justice Department on whether it wants to unseal exhibits in addition to transcripts.
The Justice Department said it has started contacting victims from the investigations whose names appear in grand jury exhibits but not in transcripts. It also is notifying parties of the extent that their names appear in grand jury materials that were not publicly admitted during Maxwell’s trial.
DOJ also asked both judges to refrain from making any decisions on releasing the requested grand jury exhibits and transcripts until it hears back from victim-related parties next week.
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