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Judge rejects Trump administration’s request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts | Jeffrey Epstein
The government lost its bid to unseal grand jury transcripts in the sex-trafficking case against Jeffrey Epstein.
Richard Berman, a federal judge in New York, said the transcripts pale in comparison to the documents the government already has on Epstein and that disclosing them could harm victims.
The ruling comes after a different judge ruled against disclosure in a separate effort to unseal transcripts in a case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend. Maxwell is in prison on a 20-year sentence after she was convicted of sex trafficking for aiding Epstein’s sexual abuses.
Epstein, who died by suicide in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial, sexually abused hundreds of girls and women and operated a sex-trafficking ring over decades. He was connected with some of the world’s most powerful people. Documents related to his conduct could reveal his connections, how he made his money and how he was able to evade justice for so long.
The government was seeking to unseal 70 pages of grand jury transcripts, exhibits including a PowerPoint presentation, four pages of call logs and letters from victims and their attorneys, from proceedings that took place in 2019.
The motions to unseal the documents came as the Trump administration is under intense scrutiny from its supporters over failure to release Epstein files in its possession. Trump had previously promised to release the files, a longtime goal for the Maga movement, and now has sought to tamp down fury among his Maga acolytes over the files. Trump and Epstein were once friends, and his entanglements have come under renewed examination.
The government has said it has massive amount of investigative materials into Epstein, but said in July that it would not be releasing more. Some of the materials are under court-ordered seals, and victims’ information is woven throughout the documents. The government said then that there was no “client list” among its materials.
In his ruling, Berman wrote that the government already has vastly more files on Epstein in its possession than what it was seeking to unseal. “The government’s 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials,” he wrote. Seeking to unseal the grand jury documents appears a “diversion” from releasing documents in the government’s possession, he wrote, and the government failed to make the case for unsealing the documents.
The grand jury materials largely consist of the testimony of an FBI agent, the sole witness in the grand jury proceedings, “who had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case and whose testimony was mostly hearsay”.
One compelling reason to keep the documents under seal, he wrote, is “possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy”. Victims and their attorneys said they wanted to be sure they weren’t put in harm by disclosures, and anonymous victims did not want their identities revealed.
Similarly, in the Maxwell grand jury proceedings, only two law enforcement officers testified, undermining the idea that unsealing the documents would grant access to a trove of earth-shattering documents.
“Insofar as the motion to unseal implies that the grand jury materials are an untapped mine lode of undisclosed information about Epstein or Maxwell or confederates, they definitively are not that,” wrote Manhattan federal court judge Paul Engelmayer in his rejection earlier this month.
Separately, the House oversight committee said it would be releasing documents it expects to receive from a subpoena to the justice department. The committee will conduct a “thorough review to ensure all victims’ identification and child sexual abuse material are redacted” before public release.
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College Football Power Rankings: Texas continues to tumble amid struggles, Miami rises to No. 1 spot
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Miami (Fla.)
2
Ohio State
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Georgia
4
LSU
5
Oregon
6
Penn State
7
Illinois
8
Florida State
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Texas A&M
10
Oklahoma
11
Utah
12
Tennessee
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Ole Miss
14
Texas
15
Georgia Tech
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Vanderbilt
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Alabama
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Missouri
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Auburn
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Texas Tech
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Notre Dame
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Tulane
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Mississippi State
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Michigan
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South Florida
Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to acknowledge that Israel did not kill Hamas leaders in its strike in Qatar last week, while putting a positive spin on the outcome.
“It didn’t fail, because it had one central message and we considered it before we launched it, and that is, you can hide, you can run, but we’ll get you,” he said at a Jerusalem press conference.
Israel targeted Hamas leaders last Tuesday in strikes in the Qatari capital that were said to kill five members of the terror group and a Qatari security officer. Israel’s security establishment was said to believe that the attack failed to take out Hamas’s top brass.
The strike elicited fury from Arab governments, including those with full diplomatic ties with Israel. On Monday, the leaders of Arab and Islamic states berated Israel in Doha at an emergency gathering in the wake of the attack.
US President Donald Trump has also expressed his displeasure, while tempering his public statements. He told reporters on Sunday that Israel must be “very, very careful” about how it handles Qatar, which he called a “great ally.”
Trump sounded similar notes shortly after the attack, when he posted on social media that the strike “does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” though he said that eliminating Hamas is a “worthy goal.
Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (C) welcomes King Abdullah II of Jordan upon his arrival to attend an Arab Islamic summit in Doha on September 15, 2025. (Qatar News Agency / AFP)
In a seeming gesture meant to reduce blowback to Washington in the wake of the strike, Netanyahu stressed at Monday’s press conference that Israel’s decision to act against Hamas in Qatar was a “wholly independent decision.”
“We assume full responsibility,” he said. “We did it on our own. Period.”
Rubio also sought to move past any public disagreement with Israel over the strike, saying, “We are focused on what happens next.”
At the same time, Netanyahu expressed sentiment that could be interpreted as an implicit rebuke of US criticism of the attack, blasting the “immense cynicism and hypocrisy” of those who assailed Israel over the strike.
Netanyahu pointed out UN Resolution 1373, ratified after the 9/11attacks, which says that no country can harbor or give safe haven to terrorists.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, on September 15, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The prime minister stressed that, after the 2001 attacks, the US “acted very boldly against the terrorist havens that were given to al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The terrorist haven that was given to the chief terrorist [Osama] Bin Laden in Pakistan.”
Rubio will visit Qatar on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported, citing two American sources.
Rubio met with Netanyahu one-on-one for about an hour and a half before an expanded meeting with aides.
He also met Monday with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and President Isaac Herzog.
A ‘concise’ Gaza operation
Rubio’s visit came as Israel gears up for its announced full-fledged invasion of Gaza City. On Monday, Israeli forces continued to bring down high-rise buildings in the northern Gaza metropolis.
Flames erupt from a building following an Israeli military strike in Gaza City, September 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Yousef Al Zanoun)
In recent days, the IDF has instructed Palestinians in all areas of Gaza City to leave for the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone” in the Strip’s south, ahead of a major offensive against Hamas. Out of the one million Palestinians who were in Gaza City, more than 320,000 have evacuated, according to IDF estimates.
Before his trip, Rubio said he would speak to Netanyahu about Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City, the largest urban center in the devastated territory, as well as the government’s talk of annexing parts of the West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.
Rubio earlier said Trump wants the Gaza war to be “finished with,” which would mean the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is “no longer a threat.”
Demonstrators protest near the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem, calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, September 13, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
But alongside Netanyahu, he showed firm support for Israel, saying that the “ideal outcome” is for Hamas to simply surrender, but “it may require ultimately a concise military operation to eliminate them.”
“As much as we may wish that there be a sort of a peaceful diplomatic way to end it,” said Rubio, “and we’ll continue to explore and be dedicated to it, we also have to be prepared for the possibility that that’s not going to happen.”
“Every single hostage, both living and deceased,” must be returned home immediately, said Rubio, and Hamas “can no longer continue to exist as an armed element that threatens the peace and security, not just of Israel, but of the world.”
Gazans deserve a better future, he continued, but that can’t begin “until Hamas is eliminated and until all of the hostages, both living and deceased, are home.”
Trump remains “committed firmly” to those goals, he said.
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‘We’d been betrayed’: Lions DB reveals why blowout over Bears was ‘personal’ with Ben Johnson returning
Ben Johnson’s return to Detroit for the first time since leaving his post as the team’s offensive coordinator for the Bears job ended in ugly fashion. The Lions recorded the biggest blowout win of any NFL team on the Week 2 Sunday slate with a 52-21 victory over Chicago.
After being on the wrong side of a loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, the extra motivation of Johnson returning was felt by Lions defensive back Brian Branch, who said the team felt “betrayed” when Johnson left to become the coach of an NFC North rival.
“Very motivated,” Branch said. “We knew coming into this game that this is personal. Really, all these games personal, but this one we felt like we’d been betrayed, from the staff to players. And we love Ben, we still love Ben. He’s a great coach. He’s a great mastermind, but yeah, it was time to get after him.”
Detroit racked up 511 yards of total offense at a whopping 8.8 yards per play, compared to just 5.3 for Johnson’s offense. The Bears also turned the ball over twice.
Leading 45-21 with less than eight minutes remaining, the Lions elected to leave their offense on the field for fourth-and-goal. Quarterback Jared Goff connected with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for his third touchdown reception of the day, which led to Johnson being asked postgame if he thought his old team was running up the score.
“What’s he supposed to do,” Johnson said. “It’s fourth-and-goal, what do you want him to do? He could’ve kicked the field goal. They don’t kick field goals. They go for it there. He was doing what he was supposed to do. That’s what he does.”
Johnson will look to record his first win as Chicago’s coach when his team faces the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at home.
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