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A federal judge in Florida has denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury materials related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein dating back to 2005 and 2007.
In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg said she was bound by existing legal precedent that limits the disclosure of federal grand jury proceedings. Specifically, she cited rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which governs southern Florida, that enforce strict grand jury secrecy.
“The court’s hands are tied,” Rosenberg wrote in her opinion, noting that Justice Department attorneys acknowledged she had no discretion under current 11th Circuit precedent.
The rejected motion sought to unseal grand jury transcripts from West Palm Beach-based proceedings connected to the government’s early investigations into Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls. The federal grand juries convened in 2005 and 2007 were separate from the more recent ones in New York that indicted Epstein in 2019 and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2020 on federal sex trafficking charges.
The Department of Justice, now led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, filed requests in both Florida and New York federal courts last week, seeking to make public the grand jury proceedings surrounding Epstein and his longtime associate Maxwell. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal sentence for her role in the abuse network.
Uncertainty in New York Courts
While the Florida court cited controlling legal precedent, the Southern District of New York—where separate grand juries indicted Epstein and Maxwell—is governed by a different appellate court, the 2nd Circuit, which has issued more permissive rulings in certain unsealing cases. Judges in New York are still considering the request and have asked the DOJ, victims, and defense attorneys to submit additional briefs before making a final decision.
Will the White House Appeal?
It remains unclear whether the Trump administration will appeal the Florida ruling. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday, “I’ll let this president speak to whether he wants to see an appeal.”
Public and political pressure has grown for the administration and Republicans in Congress to bring greater transparency to the Epstein case. Despite this, President Trump has publicly downplayed the matter, saying recently that he “doesn’t understand why so many supporters are interested” in the Epstein investigation.
Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender, died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide, though questions surrounding the case continue to fuel speculation and public interest. His extensive network of high-profile connections has only intensified calls for full disclosure.
For now, those seeking answers from the early chapters of the Epstein saga will have to wait — or look to New York, where a different legal framework may lead to the release of more information.
