A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to unseal transcripts from grand jury proceedings tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida criminal investigation in the mid-2000s.
The ruling, issued by Judge Robin Rosenberg in West Palm Beach, means the Justice Department cannot release records from two grand juries convened in 2005 and 2007. Epstein avoided federal charges at the time by cutting a controversial plea deal, pleading guilty to state charges for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
The DOJ argued the documents should be made public because of the intense public interest surrounding Epstein’s history and the fact that many reasons for keeping grand jury records secret no longer applied after Epstein’s death in 2019. But Rosenberg ruled that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals — which covers Florida — has made it clear that federal judges cannot unseal these records outside narrow exceptions.
While other federal circuits, like the 2nd Circuit in New York, do allow exceptions based on public interest, Rosenberg said the DOJ failed to meet the standards to transfer the case there.
For now, Epstein’s early federal files remain sealed, leaving many questions about his first investigation unanswered.
