The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a court document emphasizing the importance of releasing grand jury transcripts from the high-profile cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
In court filings, the DOJ argues that the files must be released because it is in the public interest.
The filing, submitted on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, follows a previous court ruling where a judge in Florida rejected the DOJ’s attempt to release grand jury materials in a separate request.
This new motion comes after the DOJ faced questions from a judge regarding the release of these transcripts.
The transcripts are highly sought after due to the ongoing public fascination with the case.
In the filing, DOJ lawyers revealed that only one witness, an FBI agent, appeared during Epstein’s grand jury proceedings.
Similarly, during Maxwell’s grand jury proceedings, there were two witnesses: the same FBI agent and a detective from the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
The NYPD detective was part of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
The DOJ’s filing noted that much of the testimony from Epstein’s victims, which was part of the grand jury proceedings, has already been made public through trials and civil lawsuits.
However, the DOJ also expressed a willingness to redact sensitive details, particularly victim-related information, to protect privacy.
“Many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell were the subject of grand jury testimony testified at trial consistent with the accounts described by an FBI agent and the detective from the NYPD in the grand jury,” the DOJ stated.
“Some have also made public those factual accounts in the course of civil litigation.”
Maxwell’s trial, which took place in 2021, included public testimony from several alleged victims of sex trafficking, as well as associates of Epstein and Maxwell.
The former socialite is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking ring.
She is also seeking to have her conviction overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, despite maintaining her innocence during the trial.
As for Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 for procuring a child for prostitution, he was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges related to sex trafficking.
He was later found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial.
His death was ruled a “suicide.”
The DOJ emphasized the strong public interest in releasing the Epstein case files, citing the ongoing media coverage and public outcry surrounding the case.
“Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes,” the DOJ’s filing read.
In the same filing, Epstein’s lawyers argued that since the convicted pedophile has passed away, he is unable to submit any objections regarding the case.
Maxwell’s legal team, however, previously filed a request to review the grand jury transcripts but was denied by a judge.
The DOJ first sought court approval to release the grand jury transcripts on July 18.
This came after public calls for transparency and accountability in the Epstein case.
However, U.S. District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer requested further explanation from the government before making a decision.
A subsequent ruling on July 23 saw U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg deny the release of grand jury transcripts from between 2005 and 2007, citing limitations imposed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the insufficiency of the DOJ’s arguments to bypass those restrictions.
The push for transparency in the Epstein and Maxwell cases continues to gain momentum as more details come to light.
Many are hoping for full accountability, even if it means unsealing the grand jury transcripts that could offer new insight into the scope of these high-profile crimes.
Our comment section is restricted to members of the Slay News community only.
To join, create a free account HERE.
If you are already a member, log in HERE.