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Transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that led to the sex trafficking indictments of the sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, British socialiate Ghislaine Maxwell, include the testimony of just two law enforcement witnesses, the Department of Justice has said, as it argues for the documents’ release.
Top justice department officials disclosed in a filing late on Tuesday in New York City federal court that separate grand juries convened to consider the criminal investigations of Epstein and Maxwell, and had heard from only two witnesses.
The revelation was made in the course of court wrangling over whether the transcripts of the proceedings should be unsealed, amid the continuing furor over the Epstein scandal which has roiled Donald Trump’s second term.
The Trump administration is urging the two federal judges who presided over the Epstein and Maxwell grand juries, Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, to release the testimony, in an attempt to calm the uproar.
The Trump administration has come under intense pressure from the president’s own base of supporters who were infuriated by the justice department’s decision not to release any additional Epstein files about the late, disgraced financier’s crimes involving the sex trafficking of girls.
The decision jarred with the previous stance of senior administration figures, including Trump himself and the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, who had hyped the expected release of more details of the New York financier’s businesses, travels and associations, including a possible list of his financial clients, which all further stoked conspiracies around the well-connected Epstein.
Tuesday’s submission states that the grand jury tasked with considering the criminal case against Epstein heard only from an FBI agent when it met in June and July 2019. A similar grand jury for Maxwell heard from the same FBI agent and a New York police department detective when it met in June and July 2020 and in March 2021.
The memorandum was signed by Jay Clayton, US attorney for the southern district of New York, and included the names of Bondi and deputy attorney general Todd Blanche.
Epstein took his own life in a federal jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on federal sex trafficking charges, officials say, but his case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories because of his and Maxwell’s links to famous people, such as royals, presidents and billionaires, including Trump.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein in the sexual trafficking of minors. She was convicted in December 2021 on charges that she lured teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Last week, she sat for two sets of interviews with justice department officials, including Blanche, in Florida, where she is serving her time in a federal prison, and answered questions “about 100 different people”, her attorney said.
Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he had cut off their relationship long ago. But he faces ongoing questions about the Epstein case..
On Tuesday, Trump spoke about connections between Epstein and the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. He claimed he evicted the financier from the resort because Epstein “stole” young female staffers from him, including Virginia Giuffre who went on to be a key witness against Epstein and Maxwell. Giuffre died in April.
Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress but with conditions, including being granted immunity. Her lawyer has written to the House committee which has subpoenaed her saying that a deposition without immunity would be a “non-starter”.
The justice department memorandum says unsealing the transcripts is “consistent with increasing calls for additional disclosures in this matter”.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
