Overview

• Following President Trump’s July 17 order, the Department of Justice filed two petitions on July 18 in the Southern District of New York to unseal transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 indictment and Ghislaine Maxwell’s prosecution.
• The unsealing requests will undergo judicial review under Rule 6(e), with courts inviting input from victims, media and other interested parties before redacting sensitive information.
• Congressional oversight measures remain pending after bipartisan amendments mandating the retention, preservation and potential release of all Epstein-related records passed the Senate in mid-July.
• Separately, President Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over its report on an alleged lewd birthday card to Epstein, extending the legal battles linked to the controversy.
• A Quinnipiac University poll finds that 63% of voters disapprove of the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, signaling widespread public frustration across party lines.