On August 20, 2025, a federal courtroom in Manhattan became the stage for a legal drama that has captivated the public for years: the fight over the secrecy of Jeffrey Epstein’s grand jury records. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, presiding over the matter, denied the Trump administration’s third and final attempt to unseal the grand jury materials tied to the late financier’s notorious sex-trafficking case. The decision, which echoed the rulings of other federal judges in recent weeks, brings to a close a chapter of the government’s push for greater transparency—or, as critics argue, a diversion from deeper disclosure.
The ruling itself was unambiguous. Judge Berman, in a detailed 14-page decision, stated that the government had not demonstrated any “special circumstance” that would justify releasing the grand jury transcripts—records that are, by longstanding legal precedent, typically kept confidential. “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,” Berman wrote, according to ABC News. He went on to emphasize that the Department of Justice (DOJ) already possesses a vast trove of Epstein-related documents, interviews, and exhibits—over 100,000 pages in total—dwarfing the mere 70 pages of grand jury transcripts the administration sought to unseal.
The grand jury materials themselves, as described by Berman and reported by UPI, consist primarily of the testimony of a single FBI agent, who lacked direct knowledge of the case, a PowerPoint slideshow of exhibits, and a call log shown to grand jurors during hearings on June 18 and July 2, 2019. Because Epstein’s case never reached trial, most of these materials never entered the public record. Berman pointedly noted that the information contained within the grand jury transcripts “pales in comparison” to the extensive investigative files already in the DOJ’s hands.
Berman’s decision follows a pattern. Just last week, Judge Paul Engelmayer, also based in Manhattan, denied a similar DOJ request to unseal grand jury testimony related to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime confidante and accomplice, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in grooming underage girls for Epstein’s abuse. Engelmayer’s ruling underscored that the government’s argument—that the grand jury materials would shed new light on the crimes—was “demonstrably false.” And in Florida, Judge Robin Rosenberg recently rejected the unsealing of grand jury records from Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, which had already drawn fierce criticism for its leniency.
The repeated denials have not gone unnoticed. The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files has stirred backlash from both the public and some of its own supporters, particularly those in the MAGA movement. Many have accused the administration of failing to deliver on promises of transparency. As Kinsey Schofield, host of the ‘To Di For’ podcast, told Sky News, “Any time new Epstein records are blocked, it fuels more curiosity and suspicions. Conspiracy theories thrive in that vacuum because the less people know, the more they fill in the blank themselves.”
Berman himself was not shy about criticizing the administration’s approach. He described the DOJ’s motion as a distraction from the far more substantial files already under government control. “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,” Berman wrote, as reported by The Daily Beast. “And, the Government committed that it would share its Epstein investigation materials with the public.”
Yet, for all the talk of transparency, the judge made clear that the government’s responsibility is to make comprehensive disclosure of the Epstein files—not just limited, potentially misleading snippets. Berman argued that releasing the grand jury transcripts would do little to inform the public, given the breadth of information already in the DOJ’s possession. Instead, he suggested, the administration should focus on releasing the larger cache of documents, which could provide a fuller picture of Epstein’s crimes and his network.
There were also practical concerns. Berman noted that the government failed to give sufficient notice to Epstein’s victims before seeking to unseal the records. He warned that making the transcripts public could pose safety and privacy risks to those victims—an issue that has loomed large throughout the various legal proceedings connected to Epstein and Maxwell. “Possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy” were cited as a key reason for keeping the materials under wraps, as ABC News reported.
The public’s hunger for answers, however, remains insatiable. Epstein’s death by suicide in jail in 2019, while awaiting trial on child sex trafficking charges, only deepened suspicions and fueled conspiracy theories about the extent of his connections and the true reach of his alleged crimes. The DOJ and FBI’s joint memo, released on July 6, 2025, reaffirmed the official finding of suicide and stated that there was no “client list” of associates who shared Epstein’s criminal interests—a claim that has done little to quell speculation.
Adding to the intrigue is the web of high-profile figures linked to Epstein. Before his death, Epstein described himself as one of Donald Trump’s “closest friends,” according to The Daily Beast, and the two were often seen together at social events. Trump, for his part, was quoted in a 2002 New York Magazine profile calling Epstein a “terrific guy”—a remark that has since taken on a much darker resonance.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee announced on August 19, 2025, that it would begin releasing some reduced files related to Epstein’s case. The committee’s investigation is set to feature testimony from a who’s-who of former attorneys general and FBI directors, including Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Alberto Gonzalez, James Comey, Robert Mueller, as well as former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to UPI. Whether these hearings and document releases will satisfy public curiosity or merely stoke further speculation remains to be seen.
For now, Judge Berman’s ruling stands as the definitive word on the matter of the grand jury records. The government’s bid to unseal them is over. But the larger trove of Epstein files, and the questions they may answer—or raise—are still waiting in the wings. The world, it seems, will have to keep waiting for the full story.
