ISTANBUL

A US federal judge approved the Justice Department's request Tuesday to release grand jury transcripts, exhibits and other investigative materials from Ghislaine Maxwell's 2021 sex trafficking case, in which the associate of Jeffrey Epstein was found guilty.

US District Judge Paul Engelmayer's order allows disclosure of previously confidential grand jury records and prosecution-defense shared evidence, with redactions to protect survivor identities and sensitive content.

Engelmayer ruled that the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law last month by US President Donald Trump, overrides traditional grand jury secrecy.

"The Court grants (Justice Department) motion to unseal … the grand jury materials in this case," the court document said.

The judge also modified a protective order from July 2020, adding provisions that allow government release of materials required by the transparency act.

The modified order requires the US attorney for the Southern District of New York to personally certify in a sworn declaration that records have been "rigorously reviewed for compliance" and contain no personally identifiable victim information.

This follows a Florida judge's Friday approval for the 2005-2007 grand jury materials in the case of convicted sex offender Epstein, enabling public release of documents like search warrants, financial records, and victim interviews by Dec. 19.

Maxwell's attorneys earlier argued that releasing grand jury materials containing "untested and unproven allegations" would create prejudices that could "foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial" if her appeal succeeds.

Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 on charges related to recruiting girls for Epstein, some as young as 14, and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in June 2022.

The US Supreme Court rejected her appeal in October, upholding her conviction on five counts related to sex trafficking and abuse.

Epstein died in 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Advocates for the victims and many lawmakers have long argued for the release of all files related to the Epstein case, saying that all the details of the case – and perpetrators involved – must be brought to light.