Judge overseeing DOJ Epstein grand jury records request asks for more information
The federal judge now overseeing the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal case said in a new order Tuesday that he plans to rule "expeditiously" on the matter but requires more information before he can.
"The Court intends to resolve this motion expeditiously," District Judge Paul Engelmayer said in a four-page order, filed Tuesday. "However, the Court cannot rule on the motion without additional submissions," the order also said.
Engelmayer is asking for further briefing from the Justice Department after he said their initial motion "does not adequately address" what the filing said is a "non-exhaustive list of factors for district courts to weigh in considering applications for disclosure" of such secret grand jury information.
Engelmayer gave the government until July 29 to submit a brief further outlining their justification for seeking the release of the records, which he said should address whether they have already reviewed grand jury transcripts from Maxwell's case and whether they provided notice to victims prior to their motion to unseal the records.
The order also directs the government to file under seal an index of Maxwell grand jury transcript materials, the transcripts themselves and a proposed redacted set of the transcripts, as well as other items.
Lawyers for Maxwell on Tuesday asked the judge to let them review any grand jury testimony before they take a position on whether to release it to the public.
According to the letter from Maxwell’s lawyers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche does not oppose allowing them to review the grand jury transcripts.
“As counsel for Ms. Maxwell, we would similarly like to review the grand jury transcripts at issue (we have not seen them and our understanding is that they have never been provided to the defense in their entirety) in order to craft a response and set out our position to the Court,” her lawyer David Oscar Markus wrote.
The unusual legal predicament comes as lawyers for the Department of Justice are attempting to unseal sensitive grand jury transcripts related to Epstein and meet with Maxwell. An objection from Maxwell into unsealing the records could further complicate the process of potentially releasing the records.
Separately, Engelmayer set a deadline of Aug. 5 for the victims in the case to address their positions regarding the disclosure of the grand jury transcripts.
President Donald Trump announced last week that he'd ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of additional Epstein material following pushback from conservatives and others for more transparency in the case.
Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell sometime in the "coming days."
"President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say," Blanche said in a statement posted by Bondi on X.
Democrats were critical of any arrangement with Maxwell.
"DAG Blanche is now doing an end-run around the SDNY and its institutional policies by acting as a political agent of President Trump to forestall the release of the full Epstein files by tacitly floating a pardon for Maxwell in return for information that politically benefits President Trump," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said.
