Judge cites lack of authority in refusing to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury materials

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A federal judge in Florida denied the Trump administration’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein investigations conducted in South Florida in 2005 and 2007.

Judge Robin Rosenberg of the Southern District of Florida ruled Wednesday that she lacks authority to release the documents, citing 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals precedent that prohibits district courts from releasing grand jury material without identifying a specific exception under federal rules.

The Trump administration sought to unseal the documents following Epstein’s death, arguing strong public interest. However, Judge Rosenberg stated that “Eleventh Circuit law does not permit this Court to grant the Government’s request; the Court’s hands are tied.”

The investigations involved Epstein, a financier suspected of sex trafficking minors. Initially investigated in 2005 for prostitution involving a high school girl, he pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution. Epstein later faced federal sex trafficking charges but died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said two other Epstein-related requests remain “ongoing,” including pending requests in New York’s Southern District. Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6, grand jury material must remain secret unless the government identifies a specific exception, which both Florida and New York judges say the administration failed to do.

The document push follows The Wall Street Journal’s article claiming Mr. Trump wrote Epstein a sexually suggestive birthday message, which the president denied and sued over.

Read more: Federal judge in Florida rejects move to unseal grand jury transcripts on Jeffrey Epstein case