Judge rejects Trump administration request to release Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents

(CNN) — A federal judge said he would not unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein – rejecting the Justice Department’s request to make them public.

Judge Richard Berman said the Justice Department did not overcome long-standing precedent to keep grand jury materials sealed and noted that the information contained in the sealed materials is small relative to the entire investigation file already in DOJ’s hands.

“The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hand of the Department of Justice,” the judge wrote.

The Justice Department declined to comment on Berman’s ruling. This is the third federal judge to decline to release Epstein-related