The grand jury transcripts President Donald Trump is seeking in New York as he tries to quell his base’s outrage over the White House’s decision not to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein cover only two witnesses, according to the Justice Department.
Those witnesses are an FBI agent and a detective with the New York Police Department, DOJ officials said in a July 29 court filing. Both witnesses testified in the federal grand jury proceedings that led to charges against convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Only the FBI agent testified before the grand jury that charged Epstein with sex trafficking in 2019.
The fact that just two people are on the witness list, both members of enforcement, could mean the transcripts might not be revelatory, even if they are released. A Manhattan federal district court is currently deciding whether to unseal the records for public viewing.
A Florida federal district court separately ruled July 23 that Epstein-related records tied to federal grand jury proceedings in that state must remain private.
The New York police detective who testified in the Maxwell-related proceedings in Manhattan was serving with the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force at the time, according to the Justice Department.
What will be new in grand jury transcripts?
The Justice Department offered a couple of indications in the latest court filing that the transcripts might not reveal much that the public doesn’t already know. In addition to just having two witnesses in the transcripts, the court filing suggests that at least a significant portion of what those witnesses said may have been repeated at trial by victims of Epstein and Maxwell. In other words, it wouldn’t be new information to the public.
“Many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell that were the subject of grand jury testimony testified at trial consistent with the accounts described by an FBI agent and the detective,” according to the Justice Department’s filing. Some of the victims also publicized their accounts in the context of civil lawsuits, the department added.
Several witnesses testified in Maxwell’s month-long trial in 2021, which ended with her conviction for conspiring to entice and transport minors for illegal sex acts with Epstein and sex trafficking a minor to him. Prosecutors said Maxwell helped Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse minor girls from about 1994 to about 2004, including girls as young as 14.
Will transcripts satisfy public outrage over Epstein?
Justice Department officials asked for the transcripts to be released at the request of Trump, who said in a Truth Social post on July 17 that he made the request based on “the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein.”
Department officials have called for redacting personal identifying information if courts approve of making the records public.
That caveat could further disappoint members of the public who have clamored for the government to release the names of any potential Epstein clients suspected of participating with the disgraced financier in a sex-trafficking ring. Several officials in Trump’s administration have fanned the flames of those conspiracies for years, including FBI Director Kash Patel, who told right-wing media figure Glenn Beck in 2023 that the head of President Joe Biden’s FBI had direct control of an Epstein “black book.”
However, in a memo released July 7, the Justice Department and the FBI said a review of the government’s records on Epstein failed to turn up a client list and that no further disclosures were warranted.
In the wake of that memo, even some congressional Republicans have clamored for the files’ release or introduced legislation to try to force the Trump administration’s hand. Republican leadership has so far blocked the legislation, and White House officials continue to resist those calls.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury records cover only two witnesses
