Judge approves release of Epstein grand jury documents in Florida

TIERNEY L. CROSS/THE NEW YORK TIMES

A lectern is set up for a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the Capitol in Washington, on Nov. 18. A federal judge in Florida, today, approved the release of grand jury documents from a nearly 20-year-old investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, beginning the process of making public another batch of long-sought material about the deceased financier.

WASHINGTON >> A federal judge in Florida today approved the release of grand jury documents from a nearly 20-year-old investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, beginning the process of making public another batch of long-sought material about the deceased financier.

The investigative material from the Florida case is among the older information that law enforcement held about Epstein, dating to an investigation that was first opened in 2005 into allegations that he was abusing teenage girls. The inquiry ended in 2008, when Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution, in a deal widely seen as overly lenient.

The ruling today came after Congress passed a law last month requiring the Justice Department to release all its files on the convicted sex offender by Dec. 19.

The process still requires the department to seek approval from judges to release grand jury material, as well as to make a number of redactions related to victims and other personal identifying information.

In a brief order, Judge Rodney Smith of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida wrote that the bill, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump last month, allowed the court to unseal the documents. He noted language in the legislation, which required the government to release “the unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials that relate to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” his longtime companion.

After his plea in Florida, Epstein was investigated again in New York and indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, before dying by suicide in jail while awaiting trial in 2019.

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For years, Trump and others in his orbit repeatedly pledged to make the files public after ginning up theories about their contents and which associates of Epstein might be implicated.

After his reelection, Trump pivoted and began to downplay the significance of the files.

The president, whose friendship and subsequent falling out with Epstein are well documented, appeared disinclined to release the files but ultimately supported the legislation after it became clear that scores of Republicans in Congress were likely to join with Democrats in voting for their release.

In recent weeks, periodic disclosures made by lawmakers have stirred speculation about the extent of previously unknown information about Epstein that is in the government’s possession. A batch of emails sent by Epstein and released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee revealed repeated references to Trump, as well as ongoing conversations between Epstein and prominent figures such as economist Larry Summers and journalist Michael Wolff.

Earlier this year, before the passage of the legislation, judges in Florida and New York had declined similar requests from the government to unseal the files, citing rules of criminal procedure that prohibit the release of grand jury materials.

In the New York case, a federal judge also entered a protective order barring the government from any attempts to unilaterally release the records, after Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior officials had pledged to make the materials public.

But even as the government lodged those requests this year, it stressed that little, if anything, in the transcripts was likely to significantly expand the public’s knowledge of Epstein’s life and criminal history.

The law passed by Congress gave the Justice Department 30 days from its passage to release the files related to the Epstein investigation in its possession.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the order today.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2025 The New York Times Company

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