The witnesses who testified before federal grand juries in New York investigating sex-trafficking allegations against Jeffrey Epstein and his former companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, were all members of law enforcement, according to the Justice Department.
The department said in court filings late Tuesday that in the investigation of Mr. Epstein, an F.B.I. agent was the sole witness; in Ms. Maxwell’s case, that same agent and a New York City police detective who was a member of the F.B.I.’s child exploitation and human trafficking task force gave testimony.
Although no victims testified in the grand jury proceedings, many later testified at Ms. Maxwell’s 2021 trial in Manhattan, offering accounts consistent with those offered by the agent and the detective, the filing said. It also noted that many victims have made their accounts public in civil litigation.
The department’s filing was submitted to two federal judges who are considering recent requests by Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, to unseal grand jury transcripts in the Epstein and Maxwell cases.
The requests come as President Trump has sought to dispel criticism and conspiracy theories from many supporters about Mr. Epstein and his death. The backlash intensified after the Justice Department said in a memo this month that its review of files regarding Mr. Epstein had “revealed no incriminating ‘client list’” or credible evidence that “Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”
“We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” the department said.
Mr. Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, about a month after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.
Ms. Maxwell was found guilty in December 2021 of sex trafficking and other counts and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Last week, Mr. Blanche held two days of interviews with Ms. Maxwell in Florida, part of the effort to quell criticism that the government is hiding what it knows about Mr. Epstein.
In the new filing, Ms. Bondi, Mr. Blanche and Jay Clayton, the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said “the passage of time has not dulled the public’s interest in these cases.”
“Beyond that,” they added, “there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes.”
The officials said that attention to the two cases had “recently intensified” after the memo announcing the conclusions of the Justice Department’s review into the investigation.
The judges considering the unsealing requests are Richard M. Berman, who oversaw the Epstein case before Mr. Epstein’s death; and Paul A. Engelmayer, who is supervising Ms. Maxwell’s case. Both judges sit on the federal bench in Manhattan.
The judges have said they would try to “expeditiously” resolve the unsealing motions. They have set an Aug. 5 deadline for Ms. Maxwell and a representative of Mr. Epstein to provide their positions on the proposed disclosure, and also for victims of the sex-trafficking scheme to offer their views on the government’s request.
In the filing Tuesday, the Justice Department said it had provided the judges with a complete set of the grand jury transcripts, under seal, and a second copy with proposed redactions, along with exhibits and other relevant materials.
The department said the redactions had been made because the transcripts contained information about victims and about people who have not been charged, or even accused, in either case.
Benjamin Weiser is a Times reporter covering the federal courts and U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, and the justice system more broadly.
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