Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A federal judge in New York on Tuesday granted a Justice Department request to release the grand jury files from the indictment hearing of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.
Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus had argued against releasing the grand jury evidence. In a filing, Markus wrote that Maxwell "does not take a position" on the Justice Department's request to unseal the material, but said that releasing the material "would create undue prejudice" and prevent "the possibility of a fair retrial."
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer on Tuesday ordered the release of grand-jury transcripts and evidence from the case against Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking of minors.
He also ordered the release of evidence shared between the prosecution and defense before Maxwell's trial, but said that the Justice Department should take care not to release any identifying information on the victims. He said the Justice Department filed a motion to unseal grand jury materials in July but didn't notify the victims. He ordered that a district attorney must "personally certify" that the material is "rigorously reviewed" before its release.
The new law passed last month by Congress requires the release of the Epstein files by Dec. 19. The Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed and signed by President Donald Trump on Nov. 19.
