Overview

• U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer rejected the Justice Department’s motion on August 11 to release sealed testimonies in Ghislaine Maxwell’s prosecution, saying the files mirror publicly available evidence.
• In his ruling, Engelmayer declared the government’s argument—that the transcripts would reveal significant new details about Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell—“demonstrably false.”
• The judge warned that using the special-circumstances exception too freely risks eroding the confidentiality that underpins grand jury proceedings and deterring future witness cooperation.
• Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence and appealing her 2021 conviction, had opposed unsealing to protect her due-process rights and victim privacy and was recently interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
• While another judge considers a separate DOJ request to unseal materials in Epstein’s case, Congress has issued subpoenas and litigants are pursuing FOIA suits for related records.