A federal judge in Florida has denied one of three Justice Department requests to unseal grand jury records related to the original federal investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, according to a court order made public on Wednesday.
The blocked request pertained to records from grand juries convened in West Palm Beach in 2005 and 2007, during the early stages of the federal case against the now-deceased financier and convicted sex offender.
The request was denied by U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg, an Obama appointee, who ruled that the DOJ failed to provide sufficient legal justification for unsealing the normally secret grand jury materials.
“Hands Are Tied,” Judge Claims
Judge Rosenberg cited strict precedent in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which only allows unsealing grand jury records under very narrow conditions. In her ruling, she claimed her “hands were tied” under existing law.
She also rejected a DOJ request to transfer jurisdiction of the matter to New York, where federal judges are already reviewing two other motions to unseal grand jury materials related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.