New York, NY – A federal judge has sharply criticized the Justice DepartmentS attempt to unseal grand jury materials related to the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, suggesting the move was a “diversion” and not a genuine effort at openness. U.S.District Judge Loretta Preska, overseeing the Maxwell case, issued the rebuke on Friday.
Judge Preska stated the submitted materials consisted of “garden-variety summary testimony” from law enforcement agents and that the data was “already almost entirely a matter of longstanding public record,” largely due to testimony presented during Maxwell’s 2021 trial in the Southern District of New York. She further noted the government demonstrated a lack of familiarity with the trial record, identifying details as non-public that had, in fact, been publicly testified to.
The judge questioned the government’s motives,suggesting a member of the public might reasonably conclude the motion to unseal wasn’t about “transparency” but rather a “diversion” – an attempt to create the “illusion of such” disclosure.
the Justice Department had requested a delay in rulings on the sealing of grand jury materials in both the Epstein and Maxwell cases, asking Judges Preska and Richard Berman to refrain from ruling until August 14. The DOJ stated it was notifying victims whose names appeared in the transcripts and exhibits, allowing them time to receive the notice. The notification process is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Judge Richard Berman, presiding over the request for grand jury materials in the Epstein case, has yet to issue a ruling. The Epstein case, centered around allegations of sex trafficking of minors, gained widespread notoriety following Epstein’s death by apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
