US District Judge Rodney Smith on Friday ordered the release of grand jury transcripts from the Florida investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Judge Smith said in a brief order that the Epstein Files Transparency Act mandates their release.The Justice Department requested the unsealing after President Donald Trump signed a bill last month requiring the public release of all govt records regarding Epstein. Grand jury proceedings are generally kept secret, and a previous Justice Department request to unseal the transcripts from Epstein’s Florida case was rebuffed.Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution. The wealthy financier was arrested again in New York in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors. He died while in pre-trial detention, and his death was ruled to be a suicide.The Justice Department is also seeking the release of the grand jury transcripts from the New York case and that of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for Epstein.Trump, a once close friend of Epstein, fought for months to prevent the release of the Epstein files held by the Justice Department. However, on November 19 he caved to pressure from Congress, including from his Republican Party, and signed a law compelling release of the materials.The Epstein Files Transparency Act calls for the release within 30 days of “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” in the possession of the Justice Department, the FBI and US attorneys’ offices related to Epstein and Maxwell.The FBI and Justice Department triggered a political furor in July with the release of a memo stating that after an “exhaustive review” of the Epstein files no evidence had emerged that would warrant further investigation.
