Justice Department asks court to unseal grand jury records in Jeffrey Epstein case
The Justice Department has not announced any plans to release its own files related to the high profile case.
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The Department of Justice requested a federal court on Friday to unseal grand jury transcripts in the criminal case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein amid pressure from President Donald Trump's supporters for more transparency about the case.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also filed a motion requesting the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime confidant and convicted child sex trafficking offender.
The Justice Department has not announced any plans to release its own files related to the cases — which it and the Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed in a recent memo did not include an “incriminating client list” or evidence of blackmail involving prominent individuals.
In a Thursday post on Truth Social, President Trump said he would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to urge the courts to release the grand jury transcripts after The Wall Street Journal reported on a lewd birthday letter that President Trump allegedly sent to Epstein in 2003.
President Trump has claimed the letter is false and filed a libel lawsuit against the newspaper, its owners and the reporters who wrote the story.
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The Justice Department and the FBI's joint memo claiming it did not uncover a so-called “client list” has triggered fierce backlash from some of the president's biggest supporters, who believed this type of information would be released under his administration.
In February, Bondi was asked by Fox News if her department would release the so-called "client list." She said, It’s sitting on my desk to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump.”
But last week, her department and the FBI said in a joint memo that it had not been uncovered in their review, contradicting her previous statement. When asked about her past statement, she said she was referring to the files, not a list.
Earlier this year, Bondi distributed binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” to online influencers — a move that also drew criticism, as much of the material was either already public or heavily redacted.
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Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. Federal officials released enhanced surveillance video on Monday from the special housing unit where Epstein was held, showing no one entering his tier from the time his cell was locked around 10:40 p.m. until the following morning, when his body was discovered.
However, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that about a minute of footage appeared to be missing.
Bondi said the missing minute is part of a nightly system reset.
“So every night, the video is reset, and every night should have the same minute missing,” Bondi said. “We’re looking for that video to release as well, showing that a minute is missing every night.”
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The Justice Department has not explained why it will not release the documents it possesses related to the case that actually do exist.