A federal judge in Florida has rejected one of three U.S. Justice Department requests to unseal grand jury records related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, according to a court order made public Wednesday.
The denied request was among three the DOJ submitted to judges in both Florida and New York, seeking to release sealed records from past federal probes into Epstein.
According to U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg’s ruling, the records pertain to grand juries convened in West Palm Beach in 2005 and 2007 as part of federal investigations into Epstein’s alleged crimes.
Judge Rosenberg criticized the DOJ for failing to provide adequate legal grounds for unsealing the materials, which are protected by strict confidentiality rules. She stated that her decision was constrained by precedent from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which allows such grand jury materials to be disclosed only under limited exceptions.
The judge also denied a DOJ request to transfer the matter to the Southern District of New York, where two separate judges are currently reviewing similar motions to unseal grand jury records tied to both Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the Florida ruling.
In a related case, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in New York denied a request by Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team to access grand jury testimony related to Epstein. Maxwell’s attorneys sought to review the sealed records in order to determine whether to take a position on their release.
But Judge Engelmayer ruled there was no legal basis for such access, writing, “It is black-letter law that defendants generally are not entitled to access grand jury materials.” He added that Maxwell had not shown a “compelling necessity” for the review, nor had she provided any evidence the materials would reveal flaws in her indictment process.
Judge Engelmayer said he would conduct a prompt review of the transcripts himself and may consider providing a summary or excerpt to Maxwell’s defense team if warranted.
