New York judge orders release of Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records from 2019 case
A federal judge in New York on Wednesday granted the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury records in Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case.
The ruling comes a day after a separate judge ordered the release of grand jury records related to Ghislaine Maxwell.
In his order, Judge Richard Berman cited the law passed by Congress last month that required the DOJ to disclose all of its Epstein-related documents, calling the law’s language “clear.”
“The Court hereby grants the Government’s motion consistent with the Epstein Open Records Act and the unequivocal right of Epstein’s victims to have their identities and privacy protected,” he wrote in the four-page ruling.
He explained that he agreed with lawyers for Epstein’s survivors, who he said wrote to the court to say that disclosure “CANNOT come at the expense of the privacy, safety and protection of victims of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”
Berman also referenced language in the law that defines the type of personal records that must be withheld, including survivors’ personal and medical records.
It is unclear when the documents will be released.
NBC News has reached out to the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate for comment.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Florida ordered the disclosure of other Epstein-related grand jury investigation documents from 2005 and 2007. A similar request had been denied months earlier.
In August, before the passage of the Epstein Records Transparency Act, Berman rejected the Justice Department’s request to unseal the grand jury documents. He argued at the time that the government had not met the necessary threshold to release the documents and said that “the government has already undertaken a thorough investigation into the Epstein matter and, unsurprisingly, has assembled a ‘treasure trove’ of Epstein documents, interviews and exhibits.”
“The government’s 100,000 pages of Epstein files and documents dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury documents,” the August ruling said.
Berman also said in August that one of the factors behind his decision not to approve the government’s motion was “possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy.”
In 2019, Epstein committed suicide in prison, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death has sparked conspiracy theories for years, particularly from some close allies of the president.
Congress passed a bill last month requiring the Justice Department to release documents related to Epstein. The final vote followed a high-profile, months-long campaign by a group of bipartisan lawmakers.
The law states that records related to Epstein must be disclosed “no later than 30 days” after the law is signed into law on November 19.
The administration’s handling of the Epstein affair has triggered rare fractures within the presidential base. In July, Trump disavowed supporters who pushed for the release of the records, calling them “weak.” Shortly before the law passed — once it became clear that the bill had overwhelming support — the president reversed course and called on Republicans to vote for it.
