Obama-Appointed Judge Denies Trump Admin Request To Unseal Ghislaine Maxwell Grand Jury Transcripts
An Obama-appointed federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s latest attempt to pull back the curtain on the Ghislaine Maxwell case, denying a request to unseal grand jury transcripts tied to her prosecution for aiding Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, sitting in Manhattan, ruled Monday that unsealing the materials “would not reveal new information of any consequence,” dismissing the Justice Department’s push as baseless. He accused the government of overselling the potential significance of the testimony and even suggested the request appeared aimed at creating “the illusion” of transparency rather than providing the public with meaningful facts.
Engelmayer claimed his own review of the transcripts confirmed they contained nothing beyond “garden-variety summary testimony by two law enforcement agents.” He argued that the sealed documents had no “significant historical or public interest,” and said their release would not advance public understanding of Epstein’s network or Maxwell’s role.
The decision marks yet another defeat for the DOJ in its effort to make more of the Epstein case public, following intense backlash over the department’s claim earlier this year that no client list existed. Just last month, Obama-appointed Judge Robin L. Rosenberg in Florida issued a similar denial regarding grand jury transcripts from a separate Epstein probe, saying federal law tied her hands.
Maxwell’s legal team opposed the unsealing, arguing that unlike Epstein, she is alive, actively appealing her case to the Supreme Court, and entitled to full due process protections. “Whatever interest the public may have in Epstein,” her lawyers wrote, “that interest cannot justify a broad intrusion into grand jury secrecy in a case where the defendant is alive and her legal options remain viable.”
The British socialite, convicted in 2021 for recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein, is serving a 20-year sentence. She was recently transferred to a lower-security facility after agreeing to sit down with the Justice Department for two days of questioning — a move that has fueled speculation about what information she might be willing to trade in pursuit of leniency.
Notably, Maxwell has been quietly lobbying for a presidential pardon from Donald Trump, whose administration has shown renewed interest in peeling back the layers of the Epstein saga. While Engelmayer’s ruling shuts down this particular avenue, another DOJ request to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein’s indictment in Manhattan remains pending before a different federal judge — setting the stage for yet another battle over what the public is allowed to see.