A federal judge has denied the U.S. Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts related to Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking indictment. The decision, issued Monday morning, emphasized the importance of maintaining grand jury secrecy and concluded that the release of these materials would not provide new, meaningful insights into the case.
As The Washington Times reports:
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said in a written ruling that the government had suggested that the materials could be released publicly “casually or promiscuously,” which would risk “unraveling the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised” and eroding confidence by persons called to testify before future grand juries.
“And it is no answer to argue that releasing the grand jury materials, because they are redundant of the evidence at Maxwell’s trial, would be innocuous. The same could be said for almost any grand jury testimony, by summary witnesses or others, given in support of charges that later proceeded to trial,” he added.
Federal prosecutors had asked to unseal the documents, in an effort to calm a whirlpool of suspicions about what the government knows about Epstein, a well-connected financier who died behind bars while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell, his socialite ex-girlfriend, was later convicted of helping him prey on underage girls.
It’s unclear how much the transcripts would have revealed since the Justice Department has acknowledged that they contained no testimony from witnesses who were not members of law enforcement.
While the Justice Department argued that unsealing the transcripts would address public concerns and suspicions surrounding the Epstein-related investigations, Judge Engelmayer found that much of the information had already been made public through Maxwell’s 2021 trial and related civil lawsuits.
Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her conviction for aiding Epstein in the abuse of minors, opposed the release of the grand jury materials. Her legal team argued that unsealing the documents could jeopardize her due process rights, especially as she continues to appeal her conviction.
The ruling follows a similar decision by a federal judge in Florida, who also denied a request to unseal grand jury transcripts from earlier Epstein investigations, citing legal precedents that protect grand jury secrecy.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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No problem. She just testifies on TV CSPAN and every news channel saying the same things in public. We don’t need no stinking transcripts!