The Florida Senate unanimously approved legislation on Wednesday that would allow for the release of private transcripts from a 2006 Palm Beach County grand jury that deliberated charges against Jeffrey Epstein. It will be signed into law, according to Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis stated on X, formerly Twitter, “All files related to Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activity should be made public.”
However, the action won’t be required if the judge in a Palm Beach Post lawsuit follows an appeals court order from nine months ago to review, edit, and release the content. Sen. Tina Polsky and Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, two lawmakers from Boca Raton, sponsored the bill at Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo's request after he vehemently opposed The Post in court.
When it passed, Abruzzo was seated on the Senate floor.
In a press release, he stated that his goal had always been to secure the grand jury records release so that Jeffrey Epstein's victims and the rest of the community could receive the justice they are due.
On July 1, the measure would go into effect.
The Post filed a lawsuit in 2019 to give Epstein's victims and the general public a chance to find out why the grand jury only found him guilty of one felony, solicitation of prostitution. Over 20 girls and young women who had admitted to sexual abuse were discovered by Palm Beach police at Epstein's island mansion.
The Post's trial court judge, Luis Delgado, was ordered by an appeals court in May to review, redact, and release the documents “in furtherance of justice, the legal principle on which it was based. Since last summer, he has held the proceedings audio recordings.
After Abruzzo's efforts were successful in persuading Judge Donald Hafele to reject the release of the documents, Democrats Polsky and Republican Gossett-Seidman sponsored the legislation.
Abruzzo hired renowned Tampa attorney Shane Vogt, who was paid using public funds totaling $32,794.
