DOJ Moves To Unseal Exhibits From Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Investigations

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday asked a federal court to unseal grand jury exhibits from the investigations into sex traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

In a submission to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman and fellow U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, the DOJ said it wants grand jury exhibits in the two cases unsealed with redactions to keep the identities of their victims private.

Earlier this week, the DOJ asked the judges to unseal grand jury transcripts in order to compare those documents with the public record.

“As there are parties whose names appear in the grand jury exhibits but did not appear in the grand jury transcripts, the Government is undertaking to notify such parties to the extent their names appear in grand jury exhibits that were not publicly admitted at the Maxwell trial (and they were not already notified in connection with the request to unseal the grand jury transcripts),” the Justice Department’s attorneys wrote.

The latest request relates to the 2019 criminal case that was brought against Epstein, which was later dropped after he was found dead in a New York City jail cell, as well as the criminal case against Maxwell.

She was convicted on child sex trafficking charges in 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in a federal facility.

Friday’s filing by the government also said that some of the evidence in the Epstein and Maxwell cases may overlap with exhibits that were released to the public when Maxwell went on trial.

Also, the DOJ said that it will later submit sealed submissions to clarify what sections of the Epstein and Maxwell grand jury exhibits have already been made available to the public. The government has also compared the exhibits against the trial record and civil complaints that were filed by certain victims, the court filing said.

It’s not clear what the exhibits may include or when they could be unsealed.

The Epstein grand jury met twice in 2019, on June 18 and July 2 of that year, the DOJ letter said on Aug. 4. Meanwhile, the Maxwell grand jury met three times, on June 29 and July 8 of 2020, and on March 29, 2021, according to the letter.

That letter had also asked for the release of the five grand jury transcripts and told the judges that the DOJ may also request the unsealing of grand jury exhibits. The agency said it wants several more days to craft arguments for that request.

Epstein’s death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging.

Previously, in 2008, Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in work custody for procuring a child for prostitution and sex trafficking.