A federal judge on Friday said the Justice Department can unseal and release transcripts from the original criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, citing a new law that overcomes the usual secrecy surrounding grand juries.
The Florida grand jury probed Epstein two decades ago. That ended with the late financier’s initial secret deal letting him duck federal charges but plead guilty to a state charge of soliciting underage girls for sex. He was sentenced to a year of work release.
Judge Rodney Smith previously blocked release of those grand jury transcripts but said Friday the Epstein Files Transparency Act, approved by Congress and signed by President Trump last month, has changed the circumstances.
“The act applies to unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Consequently, the later-enacted and specific language of the Act trumps Rule 6’s prohibition on disclosure,” the judge wrote.
The law requires release of documents as long as they don’t invade “personal privacy.” It also prohibits release of sexual or physical abuse material.
It specifically orders the department not to consider political sensitivity or embarrassment of public figures as a reason to withhold files.
Some Florida state grand jury records have already been released.
The real treasure trove of documents is believed to be from another case — the federal prosecution of Epstein in New York in 2019 on sex trafficking charges. His suicide that summer short-circuited the case, but another prosecution of Maxwell, his associate, ended with her conviction on sex trafficking charges.
