Overview
- In a Monday filing in Manhattan, a submission signed by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton asks for an expedited ruling to release the records following President Donald Trump’s approval of the 30-day mandate.
- The Justice Department argues the statute covers grand jury material and supersedes previous legal barriers that led judges to keep the transcripts sealed this summer.
- The law requires publication of investigative files within 30 days with narrow exceptions for victim privacy and ongoing investigations.
- DOJ says the Epstein grand jury heard from a single FBI agent, while the Maxwell grand jury heard from that agent and an NYPD detective, and some Maxwell material later surfaced at trial.
- Judge Richard Berman previously noted the grand jury transcripts were limited compared with roughly 100,000 pages of DOJ investigative materials, and the department is preparing a large public release.