The White House has blasted a Democrat-aligned federal judge’s decision to keep grand jury records sealed in the child trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the ruling “unfortunate.”
As Slay News reported, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer on Monday denied a Justice Department motion to release the materials.
The Barack Obama-appointed activist judge ruled that they did not contain “significant, undisclosed information” about Maxwell’s crimes or the investigation.
The move blocks the public from seeing potentially explosive evidence that prosecutors admitted could contain additional names.
In a 31-page opinion, Judge Engelmayer dismissed the DOJ’s motion.
The activist judge claims there’s nothing for the public to see in the sealed records about the crimes or the investigation.
Engelmayer said the grand juries in question weren’t even used for investigative purposes and heard no testimony from victims, eyewitnesses, or suspects; only from law enforcement officials.
The panels met for just one day each, serving the “quotidian purpose” of issuing indictments.
The judge acknowledged that “with only very minor exceptions,” the evidence shown to the grand juries is already part of the public record.
“We think that decision is unfortunate,” Leavitt told reporters Tuesday.
“Of course, we moved to unseal that information because the president has said he wants to see credible evidence released.
“As for the appeal process, I would defer you to the Department of Justice for that.”
President Donald Trump has publicly supported the release of credible case files.
Last month, Trump said that Attorney General Pam Bondi should make public whatever she determines meets that standard.
“She’s handled it very well, and it’s going to be up to her — whatever she thinks is credible she should release,” Trump said at the time.
In his 31-page opinion, Engelmayer said the grand juries were not used to investigate the case and did not hear testimony from victims, eyewitnesses, suspects, or records custodians.
Instead, he wrote, the panels met only to return an indictment, hearing from law enforcement witnesses for a single day.
“Second, the evidence put before the Maxwell grand juries is today, with only very minor exceptions, a matter of public record,” the judge wrote, noting that the government acknowledged this.
The Justice Department also sought to unseal exhibits presented to the grand jurors.
The files were expected to contain additional names beyond those already made public in criminal and civil court proceedings.
Engelmayer denied that request as well.
The decision comes amid heightened public interest in the full scope of Epstein and Maxwell’s alleged network.
The Trump administration has signaled its commitment to making credible information public.
The push to unseal the files is a sharp break from the secrecy that has long surrounded the case.
READ MORE – Royal Family Insiders: Epstein Sold Videos of Prince Andrew to Russia
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