A federal judge on Monday has denied the Department of Justice’s motion to unseal transcripts and exhibits from two grand jury proceedings and the subsequent trial of the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Responding to efforts by Attorney General Pam Bondi to unseal all testimony and exhibits from Maxwell’s two grand jury indictments, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer criticized the justice department’s invocation of a “special circumstances” doctrine to justify their release. 

“Its entire premise—that the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaningful new information about Epstein’s and Maxwell’s crimes, or the Government’s investigation into them—is demonstrably false,” Judge Engelmayer wrote in an opinion.

“Granting the Government’s motion would bloat the ‘special circumstances’ doctrine, which to date has warranted disclosure in only a tiny number of cases, all involving unique testimony by firsthand witnesses to events of obvious public or historical moment. And it is no answer to argue that releasing the grand jury materials, because they are redundant of the evidence at Maxwell’s trial, would be innocuous. The same could be said for almost any grand jury testimony, by summary witnesses or others, given in support of charges that later proceeded to trial,” Judge Engelmayer added.

The Trump administration had been working tirelessly to repair its handling of the so-called Epstein files after the justice department ruled his death a “suicide,” infuriating Mr. Trump’s MAGA base and prompting the House Oversight Committee to issue subpoenas to multiple attorneys general, former FBI directors, and even President Clinton and his wife, Secretary Clinton. 

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Vice President JD Vance deflected blame to Democrats and the Biden administration for their refusal to release the files. 

“I laugh at the Democrats who are now, all of a sudden, so interested in the Epstein files. For four years, Joe Biden and the Democrats did absolutely nothing about this story,” Mr. Vance told Fox News. “We know that Jeffrey Epstein had a lot of connections with left-wing politicians and left-wing billionaires,” Mr. Vance added.

In response, writer Bill Kristol posted on X: “Fine. Release all the files. With victims and survivors’ names … redacted. But no redactions of clients, enablers, and see-no-evil associates.”