Grand jury records in Jeffrey Epstein's case must remain sealed, judge rules.
District Judge Richard Berman's decision comes at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to quell discontent among his conservative base.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday denied the Justice Department's request to release the grand jury records that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges.
The decision by Manhattan-based District Judge Richard Berman comes as President Donald Trump attempts to quell discontent among his conservative base over his administration's handling of the case.
Trump, a Republican, had promised to make public the files related to Epstein if he were re-elected and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department refused to release additional material from its investigation into the case and claimed that a previously released list of Epstein's clients did not exist, infuriating Trump supporters.
The evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to avoid interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval. In July, Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek approval for the release of grand jury material from the Epstein case.
The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard only one witness, an FBI agent, the Justice Department said in a court filing in July.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty.
His death in prison and his friendships with the rich and powerful fueled conspiracy theories that other important people were involved in the alleged crimes and that he had been murdered. The chief medical examiner for New York City certified Epstein's death as a suicide by hanging.
On August 11, another Manhattan judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied a similar request from the Justice Department to release grand jury testimony and evidence in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse.
Engelmayer wrote that the public would learn nothing new from the release of materials from Maxwell's grand jury because much of the evidence was made public at his trial. The grand jury testimony contained no evidence of anyone other than Epstein and Maxwell having had sexual contact with minors, Engelmayer wrote.
Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review her case.
In July, a Florida judge rejected the government's request to release grand jury records from the federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. Epstein served a 13-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to a statewide prostitution charge, as part of a plea deal that is now widely considered too lenient.
