US Judge Denies DOJ Request to Unseal Maxwell-Epstein Grand Jury Records

A federal judge, Paul Engelmayer, has denied the Trump administration's request to unseal grand jury materials from the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case, ruling that the documents would not provide significant new information beyond what was already publicly known from Maxwell’s 2021 trial. Engelmayer described the sought-after grand jury testimony as routine and largely repetitive of publicly available trial records, dismissing the government's claim that releasing the materials would satisfy public interest or historical significance. The ruling came amid ongoing controversy fueled by conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 death and President Donald Trump's prior promises to disclose Epstein-related files, which the Justice Department later said did not include any client list. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, while Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial. The judge emphasized the importance of maintaining grand jury secrecy and noted that unsealing the materials could violate established legal protections. The Justice Department’s request to release grand jury transcripts in Epstein’s case remains pending before a different judge.