S.D. Fla. Petition to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Transcripts

UNITED STATES' PETITION TO UNSEAL GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS In re: Grand Jury 05-02 (WPB) and 07-103 (WPB) S.D. Florida, No. 9:25-mc-80920 Filed: July 18, 2025 This petition is the Justice Department's initial request to release federal grand jury transcripts from the West Palm Beach Epstein investigations. The petition identifies two grand jury matters, 05-02 (WPB) and 07-103 (WPB), and asks the Southern District of Florida to permit public disclosure with appropriate redactions for victim-related and personal identifying information. The filing was submitted after DOJ and the FBI issued a July 6, 2025 memorandum describing their review of Epstein investigative holdings. DOJ told the court that the public response to that memorandum created a strong transparency interest in the underlying investigative record. The petition says the Department continued to stand by the memorandum's conclusions, but argued that releasing the transcripts would help the public evaluate the investigative work. The legal problem was grand jury secrecy. DOJ acknowledged that Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) generally prohibits disclosure of matters occurring before a grand jury. It asked the court to consider unsealing anyway, citing public interest, Epstein's death, and the historical importance of the investigation. The petition also referenced related proceedings in the Southern District of New York, including United States v. Epstein and United States v. Maxwell, and preserved the possibility that the Florida court might transfer the request if it viewed the disclosure petition as tied to those New York cases. For archive users, this document is important because it marks DOJ's formal 2025 attempt to move federal Epstein grand jury material into the public record before the later Epstein Files Transparency Act process. Source: DOJ Epstein Library / S.D. Fla. Available at: https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/Court%20Records/In%20re%20Grand%20Jury%2005-02%20%28WPB%29%20%26%2007-103%20%28WPB%29%2C%20No.%20925-mc-80920%20%28S.D.%20Fla.%202025%29/EFTA02819479.pdf