President Donald Trump has directed the Justice Department to request the release of grand jury testimony related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, though he expressed skepticism that the move will satisfy critics of his administration’s handling of the case.
Trump announced on social media Saturday that he asked the DOJ “to release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval.”
Trump Criticizes Transparency Advocates
Despite ordering the release, Trump criticized those calling for transparency in the Epstein case, particularly following the Justice Department and FBI’s July 6 memo explaining their decision not to release additional files from federal investigations into the late financier.
“Even if the Court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more,” Trump stated in his post.
Background on Epstein Case
The president has downplayed concerns from several people, including prominent Republicans and conservative pundits, regarding whether the government has done enough to uncover the truth behind the sex trafficking charges filed against Epstein six years ago. The Justice Department and FBI confirmed that Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail on August 10, 2019.
Trump previously had a friendly relationship with Epstein, socializing in New York and Palm Beach. When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said they had experienced a falling out and hadn’t spoken in 15 years. The president has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case, despite his name appearing several times on Epstein’s private jet flight logs.
DOJ Filing Details
The DOJ stated in its Friday filing that its request for grand jury testimony follows “extensive public interest.” The department plans to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York “to make appropriate redactions of victim-related information and other personal identifying information prior to releasing the transcripts.”
“Transparency in this process will not be at the expense of our obligation under the law to protect victims,” the filing added.
The filing, signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, requested the court “conclude that the Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell cases qualify as a matter of public interest, release the associated grand jury transcripts, and lift any preexisting protective orders.”
Maxwell, an associate of Epstein, was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
Expert Analysis on Potential Impact
A former federal prosecutor suggested that the Justice Department’s request might not yield significant new information. Sarah Krissoff, a former assistant United States attorney, told ABC News that the transcript likely represents only a small fraction of the overall testimony and evidence gathered by the DOJ against Epstein.
While Trump’s supporters have praised his pledge to unseal the transcripts as evidence of his commitment to transparency, Krissoff cautioned that grand jury testimony typically provides limited insights compared to complete case files or trial evidence.
“The grand jury testimony is going to be very limited compared to the entire case file,” she explained. “It’s just going to be a real, high-level review – a highlight reel – of what the prosecutors think is important in the case file, which could be hundreds of thousands, if not millions of documents.”
Prosecutorial Practices
Krissoff, who spent more than a decade as a prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which brought criminal cases against both Epstein and Maxwell, explained that SDNY prosecutors generally do not present firsthand witnesses to the grand jury. Instead, they typically use federal agents who can summarize evidence and testimony from others.
“The standard practice, particularly in the SDNY, is to keep the grand jury presentation as slim as possible,” Krissoff said. “The goal of the prosecutor is essentially to put in as little evidence as they need in order to get that indictment.”
Given the evidence already made public through civil lawsuits and Maxwell’s criminal trial, Krissoff argued that the transcripts are unlikely to significantly alter public understanding of the case.
“I understand that the president wants to appease some folks by disclosing the grand jury testimony, but I just don’t see that as really shedding a light on much here,” she concluded.
