Though President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Division to request the discharge of extra particulars within the probe of convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein, he claimed Saturday that the transfer might do little to quell the outspoken criticism of his administration’s dealing with of the case.
The president reiterated on social media that he requested the DOJ “to launch all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, topic solely to Courtroom Approval.” Trump, nevertheless, lashed out in opposition to the loud voices who’ve referred to as for transparency because the Justice Division and FBI issued their July 6 memo concerning their choice to not launch any additional information from federal investigations into the late financier.
President Donald Trump departs after signing the GENIUS Act, a invoice that regulates stablecoins, a sort of cryptocurrency, within the East Room of the White Home, July 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Alex Brandon/AP
“Even when the Courtroom gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will probably be adequate for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It’s going to at all times be extra, extra, extra,” Trump mentioned in his submit.
Trump has downplayed the issues from a number of folks, together with outstanding Republicans and conservative pundits, that the federal government hasn’t executed sufficient to get to the reality behind the intercourse trafficking prices issued in opposition to the financier six years in the past. The Justice Division and FBI confirmed Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail on Aug. 10, 2019.
Trump as soon as had a pleasant relationship with Epstein, socializing in New York and Palm Seaside. When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump mentioned they’d had a falling out and hadn’t spoken in 15 years
The president has by no means been accused of wrongdoing in reference to the Epstein case regardless of his name appearing several times on Epstein’s non-public jet flight logs.
The DOJ mentioned in its Friday filing that its request for grand jury testimony follows “intensive public curiosity.”
The submitting mentioned the DOJ plans to work with the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York “to make applicable redactions of victim-related info and different private figuring out info previous to releasing the transcripts.”
“Transparency on this course of won’t be on the expense of our obligation beneath the regulation to guard victims,” the submitting added.
The submitting, which was solely signed by Lawyer Common Pam Bondi and Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche, requested the courtroom “conclude that the Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell circumstances qualify as a matter of public curiosity, launch the related grand jury transcripts, and carry any preexisting protecting orders.”
Maxwell, an affiliate of Epstein, was convicted of intercourse trafficking and different prices and sentenced to twenty years in jail in 2022.
Commuters stroll previous a bus cease close to 9 Elms Station as activists put up a poster exhibiting President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein close to the US Embassy in London, July 17, 2025.
Thomas Krych/AP
A former federal prosecutor advised ABC Information that the Justice Division’s request won’t give any new particulars.
The transcript seemingly mentions a small fraction of the general testimony and proof gathered by the DOJ in opposition to the disgraced financier, former assistant United States legal professional Sarah Krissoff advised ABC Information.
Whereas the president’s pledge to unseal the transcripts has been heralded by his supporters as proof of his dedication to transparency, Krissoff cautioned that grand jury testimony typically doesn’t shed a lot gentle in comparison with the case file or proof introduced at trial.
“The grand jury testimony goes to be very restricted in comparison with the whole case file,” she mentioned. “It is simply going to be an actual, high-level evaluation – a spotlight reel – of what the prosecutors suppose is necessary within the case file, which may very well be a whole bunch of hundreds, if not tens of millions of paperwork.”
Krissoff spent greater than a decade as a prosecutor with america Lawyer’s Workplace for the Southern District of New York, which introduced prison circumstances in opposition to each Epstein and Maxwell. Krissoff, now a companion at Cozen O’Connor, didn’t straight work on both case.
She mentioned that SDNY prosecutors typically don’t current firsthand witnesses to the grand jury, as an alternative opting to make use of federal brokers who can summarize proof and the testimony of others.
“The usual observe, notably within the SDNY, is to maintain the grand jury presentation as slim as potential,” Krissoff mentioned. “The objective of the prosecutor is actually to place in as little proof as they want in an effort to get that indictment.”
President Donald Trump arrives for an occasion to signal the GENIUS Act, a invoice that regulates stablecoins, a sort of cryptocurrency, within the East Room of the White Home, July 18, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Alex Brandon/AP
Contemplating the proof made public via civil lawsuits and the prison trial of Maxwell, Krissoff argued that the transcripts are unlikely to vary the general public understanding of the case.
“I perceive that the president needs to appease some of us by disclosing the grand jury testimony, however I simply do not see that as actually shedding a light-weight on a lot right here,” she mentioned.
