Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury File Release Blocked by Judge (1)

A federal judge in New York denied a request by the Trump administration to release sealed grand jury materials in the criminal case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and associate of Jeffrey Epstein.

The government failed to show any “special circumstances” justifying the unsealing of evidence presented to the two grand juries that indicted Maxwell, US District Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled Monday, criticizing the Justice Department’s highly publicized push to seek disclosure.

The Justice Department’s request came amid a controversy sparked by the Trump administration’s 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.

“Contrary to the government’s depiction, the Maxwell grand jury testimony is not a matter of significant historical or public interest,” Engelmayer said in a 31-page opinion. “Far from it. It consists of garden-variety summary testimony by two law enforcement agents.”

The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the ruling.

A different New York federal judge is considering whether to release grand jury materials from the sex trafficking case. A US judge in Florida last month denied a Justice Department request to unseal grand jury materials relating to charges against him there.

Read More: Ghislaine Maxwell Opposes Release of Epstein Case Documents

Engelmayer said he found little new information in the transcripts and exhibits, which are closely guarded in most cases. He said the material doesn’t identify any person, other than Epstein and Maxwell, who had sexual contact with minors.

Maxwell opposed the government’s efforts, saying she is still fighting her conviction.

“The public interest identified by the government — while understandable — is insufficient to warrant disclosure of grand jury materials at this time,” Maxwell’s lawyers wrote in a legal filing. “The government frames this interest as ‘historical,’ yet it is nothing more than widespread and intense public scrutiny about an ongoing criminal case.”

Grand jury proceedings are shrouded in secrecy for a variety of reasons, including protecting victims and preventing targets of probes from fleeing, and requests to release details of their inner workings are usually met with skepticism by judges.

‘Expose as Disingenuous’

Engelmayer’s decision could put pressure on Bondi to release Epstein files held by the Department of Justice. Engelmayer said the only arguable “special circumstance” for disclosing the grand jury testimony would be that it might “expose as disingenuous the government’s public explanations for moving to unseal.”

“A member of the public, appreciating that the Maxwell grand jury materials do not contribute anything to public knowledge, might conclude that the government’s motion for their unsealing was aimed not at ‘transparency’ but at diversion — aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such,” the judge wrote.

Maxwell was convicted in a 2021 trial of five criminal counts, including sex-trafficking of a minor. She’s seeking to have the conviction thrown out by the US Supreme Court. Prosecutors claimed she groomed underage girls for abuse by Epstein and sometimes participated in the abuse herself. She was recently transferred from the prison where she was serving a 20-year sentence to a minimum security camp, where she enjoys increased freedom of movement and privileges.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

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

(Adds details of ruling in second paragraph.)

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, Erik Larson

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