Judge denies Justice Department request to unseal Epstein grand jury transcripts

NEW YORK — A federal judge who presided over the sex trafficking case against financier Jeffrey Epstein has rejected the government's request to unseal grand jury transcripts.

The ruling Wednesday by federal Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan came after the judge presiding over the case against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend, also turned down the government's request.

Barring reversal on appeal, Berman's decision forecloses the possibility of grand jury testimony being released given that other judges who received the same Justice Department request reached the same conclusions. The court opinions amount to a collective repudiation of the department's effort to divert attention away from its stated refusal to release a massive trove of records in its own