Overview

• Judge Richard Berman ruled that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) governs the materials, noted the government conceded no 6(e)(3) exception applies, and found no special circumstances to justify unsealing.
• He cited possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy and found the Justice Department failed to provide adequate Crime Victims’ Rights Act notice before seeking disclosure.
• The opinion said the Justice Department’s roughly 100,000-page Epstein investigative trove dwarfs about 70 pages of grand-jury material and called the unsealing motion a diversion from those files.
• Berman characterized the transcripts as a hearsay snippet and said the government is the logical party to consider broader public disclosure from its investigative files.
• The decision follows a similar denial last week by Judge Paul Engelmayer on Maxwell-related grand-jury records, leaving the Epstein transcripts sealed as other disclosure efforts continue.