DOJ files request to unseal Epstein grand jury records after uproar over files
The Justice Department formally requested Friday the unsealing of grand jury records tied to federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, according to a court filing.
President Donald Trump announced the previous day that he 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.
"At the direction of the Attorney General, the Department of Justice hereby moves the Court to release grand jury transcripts associated with the above-referenced indictment," the motion said.
The department said in the filing that the request follows "extensive public interest" generated since DOJ and FBI issued its July 6 memo regarding their decision not to release any further files from federal investigations into Epstein.
"While the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to adhere to the conclusions reached in the Memorandum, transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this Administration," the filing stated. "Given the public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation into Epstein, the Department of Justice moves the Court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts in United States v. Epstein, subject to appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information."
The filing says DOJ plans to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York "to make appropriate redactions of victim-related information and other personal identifying information prior to releasing the transcripts."
"Transparency in this process will not be at the expense of our obligation under the law to protect victims," the filing adds.
The filing requests the court "conclude that the Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell cases qualify as a matter of public interest, release the associated grand jury transcripts, and lift any preexisting protective orders."
The motion is signed only by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — no career prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York are on the filing.
The Justice Department's filing comes as Trump has filed a libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch and others over the Thursday report about Trump's alleged birthday message sent to Epstein in 2003. According to the lawsuit, Trump is seeking $10 billion in damages.
Trump has denied to the Wall Street Journal that he wrote the letter. ABC News has not been able to confirm the existence of the letter.
"I look forward to getting Rupert Murdoch to testify in my lawsuit against him and his 'pile of garbage' newspaper, the WSJ. That will be an interesting experience!!!" the president wrote on his social media platform Friday morning.
Earlier Friday, Trump suggested there is no "smoking gun" in the Epstein files as he seeks to downplay a case that's long animated his MAGA supporters.
"If there was a 'smoking gun' on Epstein, why didn't the Dems, who controlled the 'files' for four years, and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it? BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!" Trump wrote on his conservative social media platform.
Trump said he asked Bondi to "produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval."
The move from Trump to order the attorney general to seek the release of additional grand jury material comes after a week of intense pressure from his MAGA supporters to do more on Epstein following a brief memo from the Justice Department and FBI stating no further disclosure "would be appropriate or warranted."
The memo stated a review from the DOJ and FBI found no evidence that Epstein kept a so-called "client list" of associates or that he blackmailed any prominent individuals, and also confirmed the disgraced financier died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Bondi days ago had said the "memo speaks for itself."
Between then and now, Trump has tried to tamp down intrigue into Epstein that's been fueled by right-wing figures for years, including conspiracy theories of a "deep state" protecting the country's elites.
He has called the Epstein files a "Democratic hoax" against him and those Republican supporters who are questioning his administration's handling of them as "stupid" and "foolish."
But his administration has shut down the idea of appointing a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.
"The idea was floated from someone in the media to the president. The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That's how he feels," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Thursday's briefing.
Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, penned three separate letters to Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino to raise questions about discrepancies concerning the Epstein files and about the July 7 memo from the administration concerning Epstein.
Durbin wrote that his office received information that Bondi "pressured the FBI" to enlist 1,000 personnel, along with New York field office personnel, to review approximately 100,000 Epstein related records and to "flag" any records in which Trump was mentioned. He asked Bondi to respond to a number of questions concerning her personal review of the Epstein documents.
ABC News' Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
