Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
What happened
A federal judge in Florida Wednesday denied the Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from that state's investigation into deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The denial came on the same day The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice notified President Donald Trump in a May meeting that his name appears in the Epstein files. Also on Wednesday, a House Oversight subcommittee voted to subpoena the DOJ to turn over additional files related to Epstein's conviction.
Who said what
The court's "hands are tied" when it comes to the administration's request to publish grand jury transcripts, said Judge Robin Rosenberg. The decision was based on "longstanding grand jury secrecy rules" that include "only a few narrow exceptions" unmet by the DOJ's request, said Politico.
The White House has come under "increasing pressure" from Trump's "political base" over its handling of the Epstein investigation, said The Washington Post. And the mystery around it grew Wednesday, with the information about the president's name appearing "multiple times" across the documents in question, said the Journal. But Trump's appearance "isn't a sign of wrongdoing," it said, noting that his Epstein connection "wasn't the focus" of the meeting.
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What next?
Despite the court's denial, the Justice Department has "another opportunity" to obtain Epstein documents from two judges based in New York, where there's generally a "less stringent approach to grand jury secrecy," said Politico. But those requests aren't expected to be resolved for several weeks. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana said he "did not know when the subpoenas would be issued," CNN said.
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