In a bid to quell mounting public uproar, President Donald Trump’s administration has asked two judges to unseal grand jury testimony tied to the sex trafficking indictments of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
In late-night filings Tuesday, U.S. federal prosecutors said releasing the records was warranted due to the "abundant public interest" surrounding Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail, and Maxwell, the British socialite serving a prison sentence.
Trump, a Republican, had vowed to declassify Epstein-related files if reelected and accused Democrats of orchestrating a cover-up. Earlier this month, however, the Justice Department said a long-rumored Epstein client list does not exist – a revelation that sparked backlash among some of Trump’s supporters.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democrats cited a century-old statute to demand the release of a broad set of Epstein-related documents while pledging to protect victims' privacy.
Asked whether the July 29 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi included the release of grand jury transcripts, Schumer told reporters, “Well, that will have to be litigated.”
