DOJ renews bid to unseal Epstein, Ghislaine grand jury transcripts

Trump says he has signed bill to release Epstein files

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night that he has signed the bill passed by Congress this week to release files related to late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal more court documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases. 

The request comes less than a week since President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. 

FILE - Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell attend de Grisogono Sponsors The 2005 Wall Street Concert Series Benefitting Wall Street Rising, with a Performance by Rod Stewart at Cipriani Wall Street on March 15, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Joe

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Epstein, Ghislaine court transcripts 

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The filings are among the first public indications that the Justice Department is working to comply with the transparency act, which requires that it release Epstein-related files in a searchable and downloadable format.

The order allows limited redactions for victim privacy or to protect active investigations, but those must be narrowly tailored and justified in the Federal Register.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges Richard M. Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer to reconsider their decisions to keep the grand jury transcripts from Epstein and Ghislaine’s case sealed.

The Justice Department interprets the transparency act "as requiring it to publish the grand jury and discovery materials in this case," said the eight-page filings, which also bear the names of Attorney General Pam Bondi and her second-in-command, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

It argued that Congress explicitly authorized disclosure under the law, overriding the secrecy of grand jury proceedings outlined in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. The law, the DOJ said, also supersedes earlier court rulings that denied unsealing.

The judge in the Maxwell case set a briefing schedule Monday, ordering Maxwell to file her position by Dec. 3. He also directed prosecutors to notify victims, who may submit letters to the court by the same date.

Epstein Files Transparency Act

The transparency act compels the Justice Department, the FBI and federal prosecutors to release the vast troves of material they’ve amassed during investigations into Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse of young women and girls. 

The law mandates the release of all unclassified documents and investigative materials, including files relating to immunity deals and internal Justice Department communications about whom to charge or investigate.

What's next:

The government has until Dec. 10 to respond, and the judge will rule afterward, though he has not set a specific date. The judge has acknowledged the law’s 30-day release deadline for Bondi.