The US Justice Department has said grand jury transcripts of proceedings that led to the sex-trafficking indictments of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell include evidence from just two law enforcement witnesses.
In a filing in Manhattan federal court, in support of its request to unseal grand jury transcripts, officials describe the grand jury witnesses in a memorandum in response to a call from judges presiding over both cases to provide more details about their request earlier this month. Judges would have to approve any request to unseal records.
Grand jury transcripts are rarely released by courts unless they need to be disclosed in connection with a judicial proceeding. The papers filed late on Tuesday cite a 1997 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said judges have wide discretion and public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information.
The Epstein grand jury heard only from an FBI agent when it met in June and July 2019, while the Maxwell grand jury heard from the same FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and March 2021, according to the submission.
The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and included the names of attorney general Pam Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche.
The request to unseal the transcripts came after the Justice Department enraged parts of President Donald Trump’s base of supporters when it announced in early July it would not make public any more Epstein files.
The decision not to make additional materials public shocked some Trump supporters because members of his administration had hyped the expected release and stoked conspiracies around Epstein.
The well-connected financier and convicted sex abuser killed himself in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges, officials say, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Mr Trump.
British socialite Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence after her December 2021 conviction for luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Last week, she sat for interviews with Justice Department officials in Florida, answering questions “about 100 different people”, her lawyer said.
Maxwell was being interviewed because of Mr Trump’s directive to gather and release any credible evidence about others who may have committed crimes, the deputy attorney general said.
The president has denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago, but he faces ongoing questions about the case.
When reporters pressed Mr Trump last week about possibly pardoning Maxwell, he deflected, emphasising his administration’s successes.
After the request to unseal grand jury records, two former prosecutors in Manhattan told the Associated Press the transcripts would be relatively short and contain only the testimony of law enforcement witnesses talking about evidence that tracks information in the indictments.
In its filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department further dampened expectations that the grand jury transcripts would contain new revelations when it said “certain aspects and subject matters” in them became public during Maxwell’s trial.
The memorandum said many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell came up in grand jury testimony gave evidence at trial consistent with what was described by the FBI agent and the NYPD detective and some information was made public through civil litigation.
The government said no Epstein or Maxwell family members have come forward to express an interest in the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts, although Maxwell has indicated she will file a position with the court.
Under a 2008 non-prosecution agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution. That allowed him to avert a possible life sentence, instead serving 13 months in a work release programme. He was required to make payments to victims and register as a sex offender.
He was later charged by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for nearly identical allegations in 2019.
