Washington — A federal judge in Florida has denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury material stemming from investigations in 2005 and 2007 into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Judge Robin Rosenberg, a federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, wrote in an order on Wednesday that “the court’s hands are tied,” given precedents about grand jury secrecy established by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which includes southern Florida. She noted that the government conceded that she was bound by the 11th Circuit’s decisions.
Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Justice Department lawyers asked several federal courts to unseal grand jury transcripts in cases involving Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime partner who is serving a 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges. Epstein was convicted on state prostitution charges in 2008, and faced federal sex trafficking charges in 2019. He died in federal custody weeks later.
Wednesday’s ruling only applies to transcripts of proceedings by federal grand juries that were convened in West Palm Beach in 2005 and 2007. Separate grand juries in New York indicted Epstein in 2019, and Maxwell in 2020. The judges who oversaw those cases are still weighing the administration’s request to unseal proceedings, and have asked the government, victims and defense teams for more information before issuing rulings.
The New York federal court is bound by different circuit court precedent, meaning judges there could ultimately pave the way for more information to be released.
It’s not yet clear if the Trump administration will appeal the Florida court’s decision. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday afternoon she will “let this president speak to whether he wants to see an appeal.”
Pressure has been mounting on the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress to provide more transparency in the Epstein case, even as President Trump has said he doesn’t understand why so many of his supporters are interested.
