A federal judge has ordered the release of grand jury transcripts from the Jeffrey Epstein Florida case, mandated by a new transparency law.
MIAMI: A federal judge has ordered the public release of grand jury transcripts from the Florida investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
US District Judge Rodney Smith issued the brief order on Friday, stating the release is mandated by the recently enacted Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The Justice Department requested the unsealing after President Donald Trump signed the bill into law last month.
That legislation requires the public release of all government records concerning Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Grand jury proceedings are typically kept secret, and a prior Justice Department request to unseal these Florida transcripts had been denied.
Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
The financier was arrested again in New York in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.
Epstein died by suicide while in pre-trial detention in a New York jail.
The Justice Department is also seeking the release of grand jury transcripts from the New York case and that of Maxwell.
Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein.
Trump, once a close friend of Epstein, fought for months to prevent the release of the Justice Department’s Epstein files.
He relented under pressure from Congress, including members of his own Republican Party, signing the transparency law on November 19.
The act calls for the release of all related unclassified records within 30 days.
These materials are held by the Justice Department, the FBI, and US attorneys’ offices.
Trump and his allies have long promoted theories about powerful Democrats being protected in the Epstein case.
They framed it as a symbol of how wealth and connections can shield individuals from justice.
The FBI and Justice Department sparked controversy in July by releasing a memo on the case.
That memo stated an “exhaustive review” found no evidence warranting further investigation.
