Overview

• U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal Epstein’s 2019 grand jury transcripts, citing Rule 6(e) secrecy and no special circumstances.
• Berman emphasized victims’ safety and privacy and noted inadequate notice to survivors, referencing a letter from victims’ rights attorneys.
• The court said the DOJ holds roughly 100,000 pages of Epstein investigation materials that dwarf the approximately 70 pages of grand jury records, which included hearsay testimony from one FBI agent, a PowerPoint, and call logs.
• The ruling marks the DOJ’s third loss on similar requests, following denials by Judges Paul Engelmayer in the Maxwell matter and Robin Rosenberg in the Florida investigations.
• Separately, the DOJ is expected to begin providing non–grand jury Epstein records to the House Oversight Committee under subpoena on Friday, and committee leaders have said they plan to release some materials after review.