WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Florida ruled Wednesday that the court's "hands are tied" in releasing federal grand jury transcripts from 2005 and 2007 in connection with an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
The ruling was separate from a request the Justice Department has pending related to a grand jury in the Southern District of New York, where Epstein was ultimately indicted. Epstein died in 2019 while he awaited trial in New York. An accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year sentence.
In the Florida case, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg said that, though the government believes special circumstances exist and the policy reasons for grand jury secrecy have expired, its rationales "are no exceptions" to grand jury secrecy.
The New York Times was first to report on the ruling.
The government, Rosenberg wrote, "has effectively conceded that the Court's hands are tied" because of a binding precedent by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Rosenberg noted that two other appeals courts have allowed additional exceptions to releasing grand jury material. One is the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes New York City, where the administration has moved to unseal additional grand jury testimony relating to the Epstein and Maxwell investigations.
Trump last week directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony” in the Epstein case.
The directive came after fierce public backlash to an unsigned joint Justice Department-FBI memo saying they had reviewed the case against Epstein and Maxwell and that no other people would be charged in connection with their trafficking of minors and that no additional material or evidence would be released.
Trump's order also came hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump sent a “bawdy” 50th birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. NBC News has not independently verified the documents, and Trump denied sending such a letter. Trump has sued the newspaper’s publisher, two of its reporters and News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch over the story (the newspaper has said it stands by its reporting).
Epstein’s criminal case and death in 2019, which was ruled a suicide, have long been the subjects of conspiracy theories. Trump and his allies were among those who spread or supported such theories during his presidential campaign.
The documents in Florida relate to the initial investigation into Epstein in Florida in 2005. The ruling said there had been two grand juries in the case — one in 2005 and the other in 2007.
Epstein, whose social circle had included the likes of Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, struck a much-scrutinized deal that allowed him to plead guilty to state solicitation charges involving a single underage victim, despite investigations into dozens of others. Federal prosecutors now say he “harmed over 1,000 victims.”
Rosenberg's ruling said the government essentially conceded that she did not have the authority to release the transcripts, but her swift decision will allow the administration to ask the 11th Circuit to reconsider its earlier ruling on grand jury secrecy.
The Justice Department said it was reviewing the ruling and would not comment further.
The 2nd Circuit has held that judges have inherent authority to release grand jury materials in special or exceptional circumstances and that "historical interest" and the passage of time are among the factors they can consider.
Two judges are considering the government's requests in New York. One is in the case that had been brought against Epstein, and the other is in the case that had been brought against Maxwell, who is appealing her conviction to the Supreme Court.
Those judges are moving more methodically than Rosenberg, and it will be at least two weeks — if not several weeks longer — before they make any decisions on the request.
The judges in New York asked for far more information in the case while they weigh the government's motion and have directed the Justice Department to provide them with grand jury materials under seal and with proposed redactions by next week.
They have also asked Maxwell’s and Epstein’s attorneys to provide a letter setting out their respective positions about the materials’ becoming public on or by Aug. 5. The judges said victims can submit letters sharing their positions by Aug. 5, as well.
After those submissions are filed, the judges may or may not hold hearings. They could also take the submissions and issue rulings at some point.
Maxwell's attorneys had asked to review the transcripts themselves before they state their position, a request a New York federal judge rejected Wednesday.
“The Court will review these transcripts expeditiously. In the event the Court determines it would benefit from Maxwell’s commentary as to a discrete aspect of these transcripts, the Court stands ready to make that excerpt, or a synopsis thereof, available to her counsel to facilitate counsel’s briefing,” U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote.
