ISTANBUL

A US federal judge on Monday rejected the government's request to unseal grand jury materials in the case of convicted Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, ruling that the documents contain no significant new information.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York dismissed the motion, finding that "much of the information provided during the course of the grand jury testimony ... was made publicly available at (Maxwell's) trial or has otherwise been publicly reported through the public statements of victims and witnesses.”

Engelmayer said the materials consisted of "garden-variety summary testimony by two law enforcement agents" rather than testimony from victims, eyewitnesses, or suspects. He said the sole purpose of the grand jury process was to return an indictment.

The judge declared that the materials did not reveal new co-conspirators, identify Epstein's "clients," explain the circumstances surrounding Epstein's death, or provide new investigative insights.

Grand jury proceedings are typically kept secret under the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure, with disclosure permitted only in "special circumstances" involving matters of profound historical or public interest.

Engelmayer warned that granting the motion would set a dangerous precedent and potentially "unravel the foundations of secrecy upon which the grand jury is premised."

The US Justice Department filed a three-and-a-half-page motion last month to unseal the grand jury transcripts in this case. The motion stated that, in "special circumstances," grand jury records may be disclosed even when not permitted by the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure.

Maxwell submitted a letter opposing the unsealing of the transcripts last Tuesday.

Maxwell, 63, is serving 20 years for conspiring to sexually abuse minors. Her associate, Jeffrey Epstein, mingled with the wealthy and powerful, including prominent politicians, for decades before he pleaded guilty in 2008 to felony solicitation and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution.