NEW YORK — A federal judge in Manhattan on Monday denied a request by the Department of Justice to unseal grand jury records in Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s case — finding the Trump administration’s bid appeared not to be about public transparency but “the illusion of such.”

Federal Judge Paul Engelmayer, in his 31-page opinion, said the DOJ, facing growing turmoil over the decision not to release investigative materials on Epstein, portrayed the sealed records from Maxwell’s case as something they were not.

“Contrary to the Government’s depiction, the Maxwell grand jury testimony is not a matter of significant historical or public interest. Far from it. It consists of garden-variety summary testimony by two law enforcement agents,” Engelmayer wrote, noting much of w

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