A federal decide in Florida on Wednesday declined the Justice Division’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from a probe into the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Court’s hands are tied — a point that the government concedes,” wrote U.S. District Choose Robin Rosenberg.
The Justice Division final week requested Rosenberg to launch the paperwork stemming from federal investigations in Florida in 2005 and 2007, court docket papers present.
The request cited “extensive public interest” in Epstein’s case for the reason that company made public its dedication that Epstein didn’t have a “client list” and died by suicide in a New York Metropolis jail in 2019 whereas awaiting trial — findings which have infuriated a few of Trump’s most fervent supporters.
The choice thwarts Trump’s efforts to tamp down criticism from his political base for now however doesn’t have an effect on the administration’s different pending requests to launch grand jury transcripts tied to later federal investigations of Epstein and his confederate, Ghislane Maxwell, in New York.
Rosenberg decided that the federal government’s request to unseal the paperwork didn’t quantity to any exceptions to the principles that require grand jury materials to remain secret. She famous that appellate court docket precedent bars her from ordering the discharge of data in situations not coated by the exceptions.
“The Court cannot grant a request for disclosure unless one of the five exceptions…applies,” she wrote.
The Justice Division additionally requested the decide to switch the case to the Southern District of New York, the place its different pending requests are. Rosenberg denied that request, as nicely, closing the case by which the federal government’s request was made whereas ordering the creation of a brand new case to retain the request and her denial.
The judges overseeing the Trump administration’s bid to unseal different grand jury data in New York set schedules for briefing the matter Tuesday, ordering the federal government to show over the sealed grand jury materials and make extra detailed arguments by July 29. Submissions from Maxwell, Epstein’s representatives and victims are due Aug. 5.
They promised to rule “expeditiously” afterward.
Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche has taken the lead up to now on the hassle. The lawyer representing Maxwell, David Oscar Markus, is a good friend.
“Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government,” Blanche mentioned in a press release Tuesday. “That changes now.”
Markus confirmed that talks have been underway to see if Maxwell, who’s serving a 20-year jail time period for serving to Epstein perform his intercourse trafficking scheme, would communicate with DOJ prosecutors about her data.
He mentioned Maxwell would “always testify truthfully” and expressing gratitude to Trump for his “commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
One of many federal judges in New York, U.S. District Choose Paul Engelmayer, on Wednesday denied Maxwell’s request for entry to the grand jury transcripts in her case, calling it “black-letter law” that defendants are sometimes not allowed to view that materials.
Epstein’s dying has lengthy captivated conspiracists, who’ve for years claimed the federal government is protecting up the reality in regards to the convicted sex-offender’s ties to distinguished public figures.
Up to date 3:31 p.m.
