The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an expedited motion requesting the release of grand‑jury transcripts and the lifting of protective orders tied to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
The DOJ had previously asked the court to unseal the transcripts in July because of “extensive public interest,” but the court denied the request, finding that the rules governing grand-jury secrecy did not permit their release.
The Justice Department argues that the newly enacted Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the release of the grand-jury transcripts at issue, asserting that Congress has now overridden the long-standing secrecy rules that previously blocked disclosure. The DOJ says it is prepared to work with U.S. Attorney’s Offices to redact sensitive personal or victim-related information before publication.
Congress passed, and the President signed, the law on November 19, 2025. It mandates that the Attorney General publicly release, within 30 days, all unclassified investigative and prosecutorial materials related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell unless a narrow exception applies. Under the statute, those materials include the grand-jury transcripts central to the dispute.
