Third Judge Grants Justice Department’s Motion to Unseal Grand Jury Materials from Government’s Epstein Files

The federal judge who presided over the 2019 criminal case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became the third judge to grant a Justice Department motion to unseal grand jury materials and other undisclosed evidence from government investigative files.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York on Wednesday issued a four-page order finding that Congress, in passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act last month, clearly indicated that materials from his criminal case must be publicly disclosed and that the law overrode traditional grand jury secrecy rules.

“The ‘plain language’ of the Epstein Records Transparency Act is unequivocally intended to make public Epstein’s grand jury materials and discovery materials covered by Epstein’s Protective Order,” Berman wrote.

This is the third – and final – ruling on the Justice Department’s motions to lift restrictions on materials related to the criminal investigations and prosecutions of Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

It comes a day after Judge Paul Engelmayer granted the Justice Department’s motion to release grand jury materials and other non-public evidence from Maxwell’s criminal case.

Judge Rodney Smith granted a similar request from the Justice Department for records associated with Epstein’s first federal investigation in Florida in the mid-2000s.

Berman, who presided over Epstein’s 2019 arraignment in New York and ordered him detained pending trial, emphasized the need to protect the privacy and safety of alleged victims as long as the Justice Department publicly releases case records.

“The Court hereby grants the Government’s motion in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the unequivocal right of Epstein’s victims to have their identity and privacy protected,” Berman wrote.

Epstein committed suicide in a New York jail in August 2019 while awaiting trial.