Sealed grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case will be made public, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday, citing a new law that compels the Department of Justice to make material related to federal investigations of Epstein public.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman reversed an earlier decision to keep the 2019 grand jury transcripts sealed, joining two other federal judges who moved in recent weeks to grant requests from the Justice Department to unseal case records as mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Epstein was indicted on charges of child sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit child sex trafficking in 2019, but died by suicide in a New York prison before his trial.
“Safety and privacy are paramount” for the victims of Epstein’s abuse, Berman wrote in the opinion Wednesday. Judges who ordered grand jury material be made public in other cases related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell cited similar concerns about protecting victim privacy and well-being in their opinions, issuing warnings to the Justice Department.
Jack Scarola, an attorney for several Epstein survivors, said in a statement to MS NOW that his clients believe the release of grand jury transcripts “will add nothing of substance to the body of already available knowledge regarding the government’s mishandling of the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.”
“The answers to how, why, and by whom Epstein and others were protected from full accountability for their crimes will not be found in those transcripts,” Scarola added. The Justice Department has until Dec. 19 to make all material related to civil and criminal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell public. Lisa Rubin contributed to this report.
Sydney Carruth is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
