A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday rejected the Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from Justice Department investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.

The department asked the court last month to unseal the grand jury transcripts , which are generally secret, saying there was "abundant public interest" in the case. The unusual request was part of the administration's effort to tamp down the intense public blowback over its handling of the Epstein files.

But on Monday, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said that there were no special circumstances to justify releasing the transcripts in Maxwell's case.

"Its entire premise—that the Maxwell grand jury materials would bring to light meaning

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