NEW YORK — U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman on Wednesday ordered the release of grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex‑trafficking case, citing a recently enacted transparency law that requires the Justice Department to make unclassified Epstein-related files public. The decision, which follows a series of bipartisan pushes in Congress for greater disclosure, leaves little room for judicial discretion because the statute expressly compels federal agencies to release the documents by Dec. 19 and overrides grand jury secrecy rules that have shielded the material for years.
Berman, in his ruling, wrote that the law unequivocally intends to make public the grand jury materials and related discovery, meaning the court must grant the government’s request to unseal the records. He noted that, despite the usual caution courts exercise in unsealing grand jury materials, Congress has directed disclosure in this case, which marks a significant departure from longstanding practice. The Justice Department, after previously opposing similar requests, moved to unseal the records soon after the law took effect, reflecting the federal government’s new obligation to comply.
According to court filings, the records slated for release consist of roughly 70 pages of transcripts and investigative summaries, and the bulk of the grand jury testimony came from an FBI agent rather than from victims or eyewitnesses, which Berman said means the documents are unlikely to contain substantial new information. Epstein, a financier who pleaded not guilty to sex‑trafficking charges, was arrested in July 2019 and was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell the following month, cutting short a high‑profile prosecution and fueling speculation about the scope of his network.
Although the new law mandates transparency, Berman emphasized that the privacy and safety of Epstein’s survivors remain paramount. He ordered that names, contact details and other identifying information be removed from the released files, and the statute itself authorizes the Justice Department to redact material that would expose victims, depict sexual abuse or jeopardize ongoing investigations. The law expressly bars withholding the records simply to prevent embarrassment or reputational harm.
The order came one day after a separate federal judge granted the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury records in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of aiding Epstein in recruiting and trafficking minors and is serving a 20‑year federal sentence; the paired rulings represent the most expansive release of Epstein‑related grand jury materials since his death. While the newly released records are not expected to dramatically change public understanding of the case, legal analysts say they will provide insight into the federal prosecution and underscore the challenge of balancing accountability with survivor protection.
