A judge in the US has rejected a justice department bid to unseal grand jury materials related to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The US government had filed a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the former financier, who took his own life while awaiting trial in 2019.
Material from grand juries is typically kept secret under US law, though exceptions can be made for a handful of reasons.
In a ruling issued on Wednesday, US District Judge Robin Rosenberg said the Justice Department’s request did not fall into any of these exceptions.
The grand jury investigations into Epstein were held in Florida in 2005 and 2007, according to a court document.
Last Friday, Donald Trump said attorney general Pam Bondi had been asked to release the transcripts because of “the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein”.
The Department of Justice said criminal cases against Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, were a matter of public interest.
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The department previously said it had around 200 documents relating to Epstein and that the FBI had thousands more.
It is unknown how much of this is grand jury testimony, which is typically kept secret under US law.
The judge’s decision is the first ruling in a series of attempts by President Trump’s administration to release more information on the case amid calls by some in his MAGA support group for the full details of Epstein’s activities to be released.
Grand juries assess evidence presented by prosecutors to decide whether there is “probable cause” to believe someone committed a crime, and if they should be put on trial.
A grand jury consists of 16 to 23 jurors and the proceedings are always carried out in private.
A juror can serve up to 24 months and they meet on a few set days each week or month to consider multiple cases.
If a jury decides there is enough evidence, an indictment – a court document setting out charges – will be issued against the suspect.
Mr Trump has faced renewed scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein since his administration’s U-turn on the so-called ‘Epstein files’.
The MAGA movement had accused the Biden administration of suppressing the extent of Epstein’s crimes and Mr Trump pledged to release the files during his second presidential term.
But after a review of the evidence, the Justice Department said recently that no “further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted”.
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