A federal judge appointed by former President Bill Clinton rejected the Department of Justice’s latest push for transparency surrounding the case of Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman blocked the DOJ’s request to unseal roughly 70 pages of grand jury transcripts and exhibits in Epstein’s case, calling the motion a “diversion” tactic.
‘The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison.’
“The government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein files,” Berman wrote in his 14-page opinion.
“By comparison, the instant grand jury motion appears to be a ‘diversion’ from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the government’s possession,” Berman added. “The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged conduct.”
“The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice,” Berman wrote.
Berman’s decision on Wednesday is the third instance in which a federal judge has denied similar motions made by the DOJ to unseal certain case material that pertains to Epstein. Despite the pushback from federal judges, the DOJ is expected to begin turning over roughly 100,000 pages of Epstein-related records to the House Oversight Committee on Friday.
Berman also justified his decision to block the release of additional Epstein files in order to protect the privacy and safety of victims.
“Victims did not have sufficient notice before the government filed the instant motions to unseal,” Berman wrote. “The government must ensure a proper review and redaction process in coordination with victims’ counsel.”
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