In a dramatic turn in one of the most scrutinized criminal cases of the past decade, a Manhattan federal judge has approved the Justice Department’s request to unseal long-protected grand
jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex-trafficking investigation.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman on Wednesday reversed his earlier decision to keep the materials sealed, clearing the way for what appears to be the final major release of records tied to Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The ruling follows similar decisions this week by two other federal judges overseeing related Epstein and Maxwell matters in New York and Florida.
It remains unknown when the newly unsealed documents will be made public. Justice Department attorneys said they will collaborate with the relevant U.S. Attorney’s Offices to apply required redactions, including the removal of victims’ names and other identifying details.
The shift comes in the wake of the recently enacted Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed by President Donald Trump last month. The law compels the DOJ to release all investigative records by December 19, effectively overriding traditional grand jury secrecy rules that have kept many documents out of public view.
Trump’s second term has been marked by sustained pressure to disclose the Epstein files—pressure that intensified after he scaled back an earlier campaign promise to release the records in full. Earlier this year, the White House authorized the release of some material, much of which was already public, disappointing critics and even some of Trump’s political allies.
What happens next
Federal judges in both Manhattan and Florida have now authorized the unsealing of a broad range of documents:
- Grand jury materials from Epstein’s 2019 New York case
- Records from Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 trial
- Documents from Epstein’s 2006 Florida prosecution
Roughly 70 pages of grand jury records from Judge Berman’s order are expected to be included in the upcoming release, though he has warned that the materials may have limited revelatory impact.
Key deadlines
December 19, 2024: All classified Epstein-related records must be released.
December 19, 2025: All unclassified records must be publicly disclosed.
The DOJ has not yet specified how extensive the full release will be, nor how heavily the documents may be redacted beyond the required concealment of victims’ identities.
Background
Epstein was indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges in July 2019 but died in jail the following month; his death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 of grooming underage girls for Epstein and is currently serving a 20-year sentence.
For years, both prosecutors and defense attorneys resisted efforts to unseal grand jury material. As recently as August, Judges Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer denied DOJ requests to release such transcripts, citing the exceptional rarity of such disclosures.
With Wednesday’s order, the final legal barriers surrounding the long-guarded Epstein files now appear poised to fall. Photo by Geoff Livingston from DC, USA, Wikimedia commons.