Florida judge blocks DOJ access to Epstein files

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CN) — Grand jury transcripts from two criminal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein will remain sealed, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg denied the Department of Justice’s request for documents of the grand jury proceedings convened in West Palm Beach in 2005 and 2007, citing precedent set by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“11th Circuit law does not permit this court to grant the government’s request,” said Rosenberg, a Barack Obama appointee. “The court’s hands are tied — a point that the government concedes.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The judge’s decision comes amid growing furor as the public clamors for evidence related to Epstein’s indictment for sex trafficking offenses in 2019.

During his campaign for office, President Donald Trump vowed to release evidence related to Epstein’s criminal case, including a supposed list of high-profile individuals linked to his crimes. But earlier this month, the Justice Department and FBI released a memo debunking any type of client list that Epstein may have used for blackmail and Trump began calling it the “Epstein hoax.”

That sparked a backlash among the public and lawmakers, including conservative supporters of the president, prompting Trump last week to order Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue grand jury transcripts related to Epstein’s crimes.

On July 18, Bondi petitioned the Southern District of Florida for the grand jury evidence from the West Palm Beach proceedings, which ultimately led to a guilty plea by Epstein for procuring a child for prostitution.

“While the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to adhere to the conclusions reached in the memorandum, transparency to the American public is of the utmost importance to this administration,” Hayden O’Byrne, a Justice Department attorney, said in the filing.

Acknowledging the 11th Circuit precedent, the petition also asked to transfer the matter to the Southern District of New York, where the Justice Department has requested records of Epstein’s indictment and the criminal proceedings against Ghislaine Maxwell, one of his associates convicted of sex trafficking in 2021.

The Southern District of New York falls under the purview of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which has previously allowed the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in special cases — although on Tuesday it denied a request to unseal documents related to a defamation case against Maxwell.

But Rosenberg denied that request, too, noting transferring the petition is also bound by 11th Circuit precedent that prohibits the release of documents unless they fall into a few, narrowly defined exemptions.

In its request, the Justice Department noted that denial of the petition would allow an appeal to the 11th Circuit.

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