Judge Denies Government's Request to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts
Today's decision by Judge Richard Berman (S.D.N.Y.), in U.S. v. Epstein, is here; here's the summary from the docket entry:
The principal ruling in this case is that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) governs and that there is clear precedent and sound purpose for grand jury sealing.The Government concedes that no Rule 6(e)(3) "exceptions" to grand jury secrecy apply in this case. At the same time, the Government fails to demonstrate any "special circumstance[]" which might justify unsealing….
And a brief excerpt from the opinion:
The Government is the party seeking disclosure-however unusual it is for the Government to seek to unseal grand jury material…. A significant and compelling reason to reject the Government's position in this litigation is that the Government has already undertaken a comprehensive investigation into the Epstein case and, not surprisingly, has assembled a "trove" of Epstein documents, interviews, and exhibits. And, the Government committed that it would share its Epstein investigation materials with the public. The Government's 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials….
The Government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein Files. By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a "diversion" from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the Government's possession. The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein's
alleged conduct.