US judge blocks release of Epstein grand jury documents

WASHINGTON

A federal judge in New York denied the Justice Department's motion Wednesday to unseal grand jury records related to the case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

US Judge Richard Berman's decision marks the third time a federal judge has blocked the release of grand jury materials related to Epstein.

Berman sharply criticized the Trump administration for seeking to unseal the records while simultaneously blocking the release of 100,000 pages of documents in its possession related to the disgraced financier, saying the government's trove of documents "dwarf" the roughly 70 pages of grand jury materials.

"The Government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a 'diversion' from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the government's possession," wrote Berman, who presided over the 2019 sex crimes trial against Epstein.

"The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged conduct," he added.

Epstein died in his New York City jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. He pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution.

Authorities determined Epstein died by suicide, a finding corroborated by the Justice Department in July when it said he was not killed.

That finding, along with Justice Department's public determination that Epstein did not have a list of wealthy clients for whom he trafficked underage girls, sparked uproar among Trump's Make America Great Again, or MAGA, supporters who have long maintained he was killed as part of a government cover-up to shield Epstein's wealthy and influential inner circle.

Berman's ruling came after a judge in the state of Florida ruled against the Justice Department's efforts to unseal grand jury records in July. Another judge ruled earlier this month to block the release of grand jury testimony related to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's one-time girlfriend, who was convicted of procuring young girls for him.