The Justice Department has filed a request to unseal grand jury exhibits and testimony from its prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, with redactions to protect the identities of victims, according to court documents filed on August 8.
The filing, signed by Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, states that unsealing will proceed only after notifying individuals named in the exhibits who did not appear in grand jury transcripts.
The DOJ has asked Manhattan U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to delay the unsealing until after August 14, while notification processes are completed.
The grand jury material stems from the criminal cases against Epstein, a deceased financier and convicted sex offender, and Maxwell, a British socialite convicted of sex trafficking young girls alongside Epstein. The request comes amid ongoing public demand for greater transparency in the handling of these cases.
The DOJ previously revealed in a July 6 memo that Epstein’s crimes impacted over 1,000 victims. However, some victims have criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the case, accusing it of prioritizing the protection of wealthy third parties over justice for victims.
One victim wrote in a court submission that the DOJ’s focus seemed to