US justice department renews request to unseal Epstein grand jury materials

"The justice department has renewed its request to unseal grand jury materials from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that led to the disgraced financier's federal indictment on sex-trafficking charges in 2019. The submission, signed by US attorney Jay Clayton for the southern district in New York, says that Congress made clear in approving the release of investigative materials last week that the court records should be released."

"But Judge Richard Berman denied a prior Trump administration request to make the grand jury transcripts public, citing a significant and compelling reason to deny the request. Berman said in August that 70 pages of grand jury transcripts and exhibits including a PowerPoint presentation, four pages of call logs and letters from victims and their attorneys, pale in comparison to what documents the government already has on Epstein."

"The grand jury materials largely consist of the testimony of an FBI agent, the sole witness in the grand jury proceedings, who had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case and whose testimony was mostly hearsay. But Berman said the compelling reason to keep the documents under seal was the possible threats to victims' safety and privacy. A similar request to unseal grand jury testimony relating to the prosecution of Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell was also rejected."

The Justice Department renewed a request to unseal grand jury materials from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation that led to his 2019 federal sex-trafficking indictment. The filing, signed by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York, says Congress's recent approval of investigative material release mandates prompt disclosure under a 30-day window after the president signed the measure. The department contends congressional action overrides existing law to permit unsealing. Judges previously denied similar requests, with Judge Richard Berman citing victims' safety and privacy and noting the grand jury materials were limited, largely hearsay testimony from a single FBI agent, and dwarfed by other government files.

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