Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Transcripts Ordered

A federal judge in Florida on Friday ordered the release of grand jury transcripts from the federal sex-trafficking cases of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, ruling that a recently passed law requiring disclosure outweighs long-standing secrecy rules.

U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith said the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed last month by President Donald Trump, compels federal agencies to release by December 19 the extensive records gathered during investigations into Epstein. The statute, he said, supersedes the federal rule that bars the release of matters occurring before a grand jury.

Why It Matters

Despite efforts to distance himself from the saga, Trump has been under increasing pressure from voters and lawmakers on all sides to release documents related to the late, disgraced financier, after the Department of Justice and FBI said during the summer that there was nothing further to make public. That was despite a campaign promise by Trump that he would release the Epstein files, alleging they had been kept secret because of links to prominent Democrats.

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What To Know

When the documents will be released is unknown. The government had asked the court for permission to include the usually secret grand jury records in the files they are required to make public under the new federal law, which set a deadline of December 19 for their release.

However, the law also allows the Justice Department to withhold files that it says could jeopardize an active federal investigation, which also is long-standing Justice Department policy. Files can also be withheld if they’re found to be classified or if they pertain to national defense or foreign policy.

The Justice Department has asked courts to unseal documents in three separate Epstein-related cases: the 2006–07 Florida grand jury investigation, Epstein’s 2019 sex-trafficking case in New York and Maxwell’s 2021 trafficking case, also in New York. Smith granted the Florida request on Friday.

The Florida case began in Palm Beach County in 2005. Then, the focus for prosecutors was Epstein's alleged network of middle school- and high school-age girls he was accused of abusing. The case began following reports from a 14-year-old girl that she had been molested by a wealthy man in Palm Beach, with police searching Epstein's now-demolished home on El Brillo Way.

Epstein's legal team then arrived as prosecutors gathered evidence, including MySpace pages, linked to Epstein. As the case progressed, the families of the alleged victims reported being hounded by private eyes paid by Epstein, but this was not addressed by local officials.

On July 19, 2006, a grand jury indicted Epstein on one charge of solicitation of prostitution and he was arrested a few days later, held for one night, then released on a $3,000 bond.

In September 2007, a deal was struck between federal prosecutors and Epstein's team, allowing him to plead guilty the following year to the charge, as well as another of solicitation of a minor for prostitution. He served 13 months of an 18-month sentence but was often allowed out on work release.

In 2009, Epstein was released under house arrest but was allowed to travel often, including to his private U.S. Virgin Islands home, as long as he returned within 24 hours.

A decade later, he was charged in New York with sex trafficking, leading to his arrest and eventual death by suicide in prison before his trial.

The Florida case is seen as one of the keys as to how Epstein's crimes were allowed to continue for several years after the first police report, and for many years before, with Maxwell's case highlighting abuse stretching back into the 1990s.

What People Are Saying

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other government lawyers wrote to the court last month: "The Legislative and Executive Branches have nearly unanimously directed the Department of Justice to make records related to the Epstein and Maxwell investigations publicly available."

California Democratic Representative and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, during an appearance on MS NOW's Chris Jansing Reports on Wednesday: “We know that so many girls, in some cases, children and women were raped, were abused in these spaces. And so what's important for Democrats is, when we get information, we are going to put it out to the public. And I think that the images speak for themselves. It's so important at this moment that the president and the Department of Justice release the full Epstein files that they are required to do.”

What Happens Next

The New York requests remain pending, with a Monday deadline to respond to filings from victims, Epstein’s estate and Maxwell’s attorneys. Judges in those cases have said they plan to rule quickly.

This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.

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