A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury records in Ghislaine Maxwell’s case.
Federal Judge Paul Engelmayer, in his opinion, said President Trump’s appointees at the Justice Department, facing growing turmoil over their decision not to release investigative materials on deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, portrayed the sealed records from Maxwell’s case as something they were not.
“Contrary to the Government’s depiction, the Maxwell grand jury testimony is not a matter of significant historical or public interest. Far from it. It consists of garden-variety summary testimony by two law enforcement agents,” Engelmayer wrote, noting much of what was contained within was revealed at Maxwell’s 2021 trial.
The records, the judge said, do not identify anyone other than Maxwell as having sexually abused a minor.
“They do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s. They do not reveal any heretofore unknown means or methods of Epstein’s or Maxwell’s crimes. They do not reveal new venues at which their crimes occurred,” the judge wrote.
“They do not reveal new sources of their wealth. They do not explore the circumstances of Epstein’s death. They do not reveal the path of the Government’s investigation.”
This developing story will be updated.
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