WASHINGTON, Jul 19 – The US Justice Department has asked a judge to unseal material related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following intense criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the case.
The request concerns transcripts from the grand jury involved in the government’s 2019 sex trafficking case against Epstein, materials that are typically kept secret and protected by law.
The court filing came as Trump filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones, its owner Rupert Murdoch and two reporters, over a story claiming he wrote a “bawdy” personal note to Epstein in 2003.
Trump said the note, which the paper reported he’d sent for Epstein’s 50th birthday, is “fake”.
A Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement to the BBC: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
On Thursday, Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of documents related to Epstein’s secretive grand jury testimony.
The justice department formally made the request to a judge in New York, arguing the materials related to the case – where he was charged with trafficking dozens of girls as young as 14 – “qualify as a matter of public interest”.
The department is also asking for disclosures in the case of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in the child sex trafficking conspiracy.
A grand jury – a panel of people who vet whether there is enough evidence to charge a person with a crime – can hear from confidential informants and those whose identities are protected for their safety. Materials in a grand jury are typically kept secret under the law, but a judge can unseal documents if they decide public interest outweighs the need for such legal protections in a case.
Either way, it’s unclear when or if documents will be released, or if they contain many of the details Trump’s supporters have been demanding.
