Judge Will Release Maxwell Grand Jury Docs

A federal judge on Tuesday granted the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury testimony in the case against Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted sex offender and Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator.

While the order unlocks thousands of pages, Judge Paul Engelmayer tempered expectations about what is contained in the records, warning that they "would not add to public knowledge."

"The materials do not identify any person other than Epstein and Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor," the order said.

Engelmayer also admonished the DOJ in the order for failing to notify Epstein and Maxwell's victims of the intention to petition the court to unseal the files, or give them time to express their feelings on it to the court.

The DOJ "has not treated [the victims] with the solicitude they deserve," Engelmayer wrote.

The ruling follows the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which became law on Nov. 19.

The Justice Department requested an expedited ruling authorizing the release on Nov. 24. Maxwell, via her lawyers, said she didn't take a position on the request to unseal the grand jury materials.

Released records cannot contain victims' personally identifiable information or their medical files.

Earlier this month, federal Judge Rodney Smith ordered grand jury transcripts from Epstein's trial be unsealed.

In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison on sex trafficking and other charges for helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

In 2021, she was found guilty of five counts, including sex trafficking of minors, for recruiting and grooming teenagers for Epstein between 1999 and 2007.

She was indicted in July 2020 on six federal counts.