Jul 23, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Judges in Epstein, Maxwell grand jury records cases want more details from DOJ

Rebecca Falconer

Audrey Strauss, then-acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announces charges against Ghislaine Maxwell in New York City in 2020. — Audrey Strauss, then-acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announces charges against Ghislaine Maxwell in New York City in 2020. Photo: Johannes EiseleI/AFP via Getty Images

Two federal judges on Tuesday gave the Department of Justice until next week to provide more details in its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The big picture: "The court intends to resolve this motion expeditiously," the two Manhattan judges wrote in similar court orders. "However, the Court cannot rule on the motion without additional submissions from the government."

The orders came the same day as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that he's seeking a meeting with Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence in Florida after being found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges in 2021.
The Trump administration has faced pressure from even typically loyal MAGA circles to act after the DOJ and FBI concluded there's no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list" and that the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier was not murdered.

Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who was overseeing Epstein's case before he was found dead in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex-trafficking minors, requested that the DOJ provide a more detailed memorandum by July 29 on making the case for unsealing grand jury transcripts related to the case.

Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who's overseeing Maxwell's case, requested the same and on the same date.
Victims and representatives for Epstein and Maxwell in the cases have until Aug. 5 to file submissions, according to the orders.

What they're saying: "According to the government, Epstein harmed over one thousand victims," noted the Clinton-appointed Berman.

"Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials."

Context: Grand jury transcripts are typically kept secret under federal criminal procedure rules, but federal judges can release them under special circumstances.

The DOJ has said it will work with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the case to "make appropriate redactions of victim-related information and other personal identifying information prior to releasing the transcripts."

Read District Judge Richard Berman's order in full, via DocumentCloud:

Read District Judge Paul Engelmayer's order in full, via DocumentCloud:

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Judges in Epstein, Maxwell grand jury records cases want more details from DOJ

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