Judge Says DOJ Can Release Maxwell Grand Jury Materials (2)

The US Department of Justice can release grand jury materials from Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case after a second federal judge paved the way for the disclosure of more information about the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who had previously denied a request by the government to allow the release of transcripts and other evidence, granted it permission in an opinion on Tuesday in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which President Donald Trump signed last month.

The ruling marks a sharp reversal for the Trump administration, which sparked controversy with a decision not to release documents that could reveal some of Epstein’s clients. In the wake of the backlash, Attorney General Pam Bondi asked courts in New York and Florida to unseal documents relating to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein for sex trafficking.

In the opinion, Engelmayer criticized the Justice Department for “paying lip service to Maxwell’s and Epstein’s victims” while failing to provide notice to them in the department’s two requests to unseal documents. He added a requirement that Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton must personally certify that any material has been “rigorously reviewed” for compliance with a section of the act that protects against disclosure of victims’ identities and invasion of their privacy.

The latest request to release the grand jury materials follows the passage of the transparency act, which was the result of months of pressure to disclose more information related to the convicted sex offender. A federal judge in Florida last week granted a similar request to release the grand jury material. A third judge, in New York, is considering a request to permit the release of material relating to an Epstein grand jury there.

Epstein died at 66, by suicide, while in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. Maxwell, 63, was convicted of participating in Epstein’s sex trafficking of women and girls. She is serving a 20-year sentence in a Texas prison.

While Maxwell didn’t technically oppose the latest motion to release the material, she asked the court to note that the information could harm her anticipated request for a new trial.

Maxwell’s conviction was upheld on appeal and the US Supreme Court declined to review it. Maxwell plans to file a new request to throw out the conviction, without the help of lawyers.

The case is US v. Maxwell, 20-cr-00330, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

(Adds background)

--With assistance from Chris Dolmetsch.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons, Steve Stroth

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