A federal judge has cleared the Justice Department to release secret grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case on Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman reversed his earlier decision to keep the transcripts under wraps, citing Congress’s recent action on the Epstein files. Berman had previously warned that the contents of the roughly 70 pages of grandjury materials contain little new information.
The move comes just one day after Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the DOJ’s motion to unseal separate grand jury transcripts and exhibits in Maxwell’s criminal case. Last week, Judge Rodney Smith also moved to allow the DOJ to release transcripts from an abandoned federal grand jury probe from the 2000s.
Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking charges in December 2021, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Her attorney said that she took no position on the requested unsealing of records but noted that the release could harm Maxwell’s plan to file a habeas petition, according to The Associated Press.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the DOJ ‘to publish (in a searchable and downloadable format) all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in DOJ’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein.’
The act was passed in November and paves the way for the public to have more insight into the infamous cases against the late disgraced financier.
The law places a deadline for releasing files on Dec. 19.
The DOJ is reportedly working with survivors and their attorneys to redact records to protect survivors’ identities and prevent the dissemination of sexualized images, according to the AP.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.