Epstein grand jury records: Trump DOJ plans to redact "third party" names
Minutes before midnight, the Trump DOJ's political appointees confirmed plans to black out the names of uncharged "third parties" in Epstein grand jury records.
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Two minutes before midnight, the Justice Department’s political appointees confirmed that they plan to redact the names of “third parties who neither have been charged or alleged to be involved in the crimes” of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
“In addition to the typical reasons for grand jury secrecy, the grand jury transcripts contain victim-related and other personal identifying information related to third parties who neither have been charged or alleged to be involved in the crimes with which Epstein and Maxwell were charged, to which the government is sensitive, and which is why the government proposes redacting the transcripts before releasing them,” the government’s memo states.
None of Epstein or Maxwell’s prosecutors co-signed the nine-page government memorandum, entered into the Southern District of New York’s filing system at 11:58 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. The case’s former lead prosecutor Maurene Comey was fired shortly before the government made its request.
Two federal judges — U.S. District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer — set a Tuesday deadline for the Trump administration to justify their unusual request to unseal Epstein and Maxwell’s grand jury records, justifying the gambit in the name of transparency.
Explaining their decision in the dead of night, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton — all appointed by Trump — wrote: “there is undoubtedly a clearly expressed interest from the public in Jeffrey Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s crimes.”
“Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes,” their filing states. “Attention given to the Epstein and Maxwell cases has recently intensified in the wake of the July 6, 2025 memorandum announcing the conclusions of the Government’s review into the investigation.
In that unsigned memo, the Justice Department and FBI refused to release any more of the “300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence” that they said they reviewed in the Epstein case.
“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” the memo said. “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
In a recent interview with All Rise News, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said that he provided the Trump administration with “actionable” information tying Epstein’s financial records to a “billionaire financier and Wall Street banks.” The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Wyden later revealed that banks flagged $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions from thousands of wire transfers.
The Trump administration did not act on that information or release the data publicly, Wyden said.
Since Epstein and Maxwell were later prosecuted, their grand jury records are unlikely to produce any information that did not become public in their cases. Maxwell has petitioned the Supreme Court to review her case, and the Justice Department’s memo does not discuss the potential effect of disclosure of her grand jury records if her convictions are overturned on appeal.
Last week, Judges Berman and Engelmayer noted: “The government may not have notified the victims,” and All Rise News confirmed through a prominent attorney for the victims that the Justice Department had not.
Trump’s Justice Department now claims to have corrected that oversight: “In addition, the Government has now provided notice to all but one of the victims who are referenced in the grand jury transcripts at issue in this motion. The Government has attempted to contact the remaining victim, but such efforts have been unsuccessful.”
In their memo refusing to release more Epstein files, the government estimated that there were more than 1,000 victims — and invoked their traumas to justify the lack of further disclosure.
“Each suffered unique trauma,” the unsigned memo said. “Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history.”
Epstein and Maxwell’s victims have an opportunity to respond to the government’s memo on Tuesday, Aug. 5.
Read the full memo here.
Thank you for the update. I noticed the email you sent out last night. I think it is unbelievable that so many names need to be redacted. My heart goes out to all the victims. It is absolutely disgusting that MAGA is trying to portray Ms. Maxwell as a victim.