Epstein Files Released Following Request to Unseal Grand Jury Transcripts, Says Court Decision

On Wednesday, a judge for the southern district of New York granted the Justice Department’s request to unseal more of the Epstein files related to his 2019 sex trafficking cases, according to reporting by Associated Press.

According to the decision, the files must be unsealed by Dec. 19.

Associated Press reported U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman ruled grand jury transcripts, as well as other materials relating to the case, could be unsealed, reversing course on his earlier decision declining to unseal files he believed to be “merely a hearsay snippet.”

In the decision, the judge cited the new Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in November 2025, also reversing course for the administration after the Justice Department released a memo in July 2025 stating “no further disclosure” of materials related to Epstein would be “appropriate or warranted.”

The memo itself reversed remarks made by Attorney General Pam Bondi when asked about the files in an interview with Fox News late February on “America Reports.”

“It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,” Bondi told host John Roberts.

The memo denying the existence of the list was met with backlash, enough of it coming from Trump’s own base that it prompted him to make a post on Truth Social defending Bondi’s “fantastic job,” according to reporting by CNN.

Bondi eventually went on to claim in a July 8 cabinet meeting her statements on Fox were misunderstood.

This ruling by the New York judge follows a string of recent unsealing orders.

Associated Press reported on a judge in Manhattan granting the request to unseal files related to Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

In his ruling, the judge made a point to claim there was no new information to be found in the files regarding any previously unknown third parties.

“They do not discuss or identify any client of Epstein or Maxwell’s,” advised the Manhattan judge, according to the Press.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20 year sentence in federal prison for her role in Epstein’s exploitation of minors.

According to reporting by CBS, a judge in Florida ordered to release files related to an investigation on Epstein from the early 2000’s.

According to this report, the investigation was abandoned following a deal Epstein made with prosecutors.

Epstein himself committed suicide in federal custody in August 2019 following his July 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges, according to reporting by Associated Press.

Conspiracy theories casting doubt on the suicide’s legitimacy have been circulating since news of the suicide broke.

Memes claiming “Epstein didn’t kill himself” couch a genuine suspicion of a cover-up in layers of crass, dark humor, as elaborated in this interview on NPR.

Since the death of the financier charged with sex trafficking, there also has been much speculation regarding the existence of an Epstein “client list.”

According to ABC, in February of 2025, the Justice Department invited conservative influencers and bloggers to the District of Columbia to give them a set of files purported to be “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.”

Epstein and President Trump were once engaged in a high profile friendship throughout the 90’s and into the early 2000’s, a relationship Trump repeatedly denounces, such as when he claimed he was “not a fan” of Epstein following Epstein’s conviction on child sex offenses in 2008, according to reporting by The Guardian.

Trump also feels people should move on from the Epstein files, according to reporting by USA Today.

“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” said President Trump. “It’s pretty boring stuff.”