A US federal judge has rejected a request from the Trump administration to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation in Florida, dealing a blow to efforts to release more information on the case.
District Judge Robin Rosenberg ruled on Wednesday that the Department of Justice's motion did not meet the narrow legal exceptions required to unseal grand jury materials. The judge stated that the court's 'hands are tied' under the law, noting that the government had not sought the transcripts for use in a judicial proceeding.
The ruling comes after the Justice Department announced it would not release additional Epstein files, despite earlier promises from President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi. This sparked backlash from some Trump supporters and conservative commentators, renewing scrutiny of Trump's past ties to the late sex offender.
The Justice Department had filed a motion on Friday to unseal transcripts from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. However, Judge Rosenberg found that the request did not fall within exceptions to rules requiring grand jury secrecy.
Separate requests to unseal transcripts in Manhattan federal court, related to a later indictment against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, remain pending. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, and Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
