New Law Forces a Shift in the Case
A federal judge in New York has cleared the Justice Department to release grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex-trafficking case. Judge Richard Berman changed his earlier decision after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The law requires federal officials to publish Epstein-related investigative files by 19 December.
Berman said victims still deserve full protection. He stressed that their safety and privacy remain “paramount.”
Why the Decision Changed
In August, Berman refused the Justice Department’s request due to concerns about potential threats to victims. The new law, signed by President Donald Trump last month, removed that barrier. It orders the release of unclassified documents, communications, and investigative material tied to Epstein. However, the Justice Department can withhold files connected to active cases or those that risk exposing sensitive personal details.
Other Courts Make Similar Moves
Berman became the third federal judge to support the Justice Department’s request under the new law. On Tuesday, another judge approved a similar release in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls from 1994 to 2004. Last week, a Florida judge also agreed to unseal grand jury transcripts from a separate Epstein investigation from 2005 and 2007.
Political Pressure Builds Around the Epstein Files
For months, the Trump administration faced strong pressure to release more information about Epstein. During the 2024 campaign, Trump promised full transparency and later released thousands of pages of documents, including flight logs. In July, however, the Justice Department said no more files would be published. That decision angered lawmakers in both parties. Congress responded by introducing a new law that forced the release.
The family of Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein survivor who died earlier this year, called Trump’s signing of the law “monumental.”
What Previous Releases Revealed
The upcoming files differ from the documents released earlier this year by the House Oversight Committee. That batch included images of Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, where many survivors said he trafficked and abused them.
Photos showed several bedrooms, a room lined with masks, and a phone with names written on its speed-dial buttons. Other images revealed a dental chair and a black chalkboard with the words “truth,” “deception,” and “power.”
Democrats on the committee said they released the documents to increase transparency. Republicans accused them of releasing selective information and later published more files.
