A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected the Justice Department’s bid to make public the grand jury materials from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman issued a 14-page decision on Wednesday denying the government’s request to unseal approximately 70 pages of grand jury transcripts and related exhibits from the case against the late financier. The ruling follows a similar denial earlier this month by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who rejected a parallel request to unseal materials from the companion case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former associate who is serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking.

Judge Berman emphasized that the grand jury materials contained limited value compared to the Justice Department’s broader investigative files. According to the ruling, no victims testified before the Epstein grand jury. The sole witness was an FBI agent who had no direct knowledge of the facts of the case and whose testimony was mostly hearsay. This agent testified over two sessions on June 18 and July 2, 2019, along with a PowerPoint presentation and call log exhibits.

The judge placed significant weight on protecting victim privacy and safety.

The ruling comes amid revelations about the Justice Department’s intensive review of Epstein-related materials. Officials diverted hundreds of FBI employees and federal prosecutors from regular duties to examine over 100,000 pages of Epstein documents. The review uncovered significant evidence including more than 300 gigabytes of data, over 10,000 downloaded videos and images of illegal child exploitation material, and extensive physical evidence.

Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin revealed that FBI personnel were instructed to “flag” any documents mentioning President Trump during this review process.

Judge Berman suggested the unsealing request appeared to be a “diversion” from the Justice Department’s refusal to release its comprehensive Epstein investigation files. He noted that the government had previously committed to releasing these broader materials but announced in July 2025 that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.

The decision occurs as Congress continues to investigate the Epstein case. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced that the Justice Department will begin providing Epstein-related records to Congress, with the committee planning to make files public after redacting victim identities.