Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
What happened
New York U.S. District Judge Richard Berman Wednesday rejected a Justice Department motion to release grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case, describing the request as a "'diversion' from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the government's possession." Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject nearly identical DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material.
Who said what
President Donald Trump, a former longtime friend of Epstein, directed the DOJ to seek the grand jury material in mid-July, amid a "fierce backlash" from supporters and critics alike over his administration's "refusal to release" the "massive trove" of Epstein documents in its possession, The Associated Press said.
The grand jury testimony is "merely a hearsay snippet" of Epstein's alleged crimes and "pales in comparison" to the DOJ's Epstein investigation information, Berman wrote. With some 100,000 pages of material and no grand jury secrecy constraints, the "government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein Files."
What next?
The administration could appeal Berman's rejection, "though it has not done so in the other two rulings," The Washington Post said. The DOJ is separately "being forced to disclose the Epstein files" to the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, Politico said. The committee said earlier this week it "plans to publicly release" some of the files after the DOJ starts handing them over Friday, The Wall Street Journal said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
The WW2 ‘massacre’ dividing Senegal and FranceUnder the Radar A new investigation found the 1944 Thiaroye attack on ‘unarmed’ African soldiers was ‘premeditated’, and far deadlier than previously recorded
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
