Order Requiring Briefing on Grand Jury Secrecy Exceptions

ORDER REQUIRING SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING In re: Grand Jury 05-02 (WPB) and 07-103 (WPB) S.D. Florida, No. 9:25-mc-80920 Entered: July 19, 2025 This order required the Justice Department to clarify the legal basis for its petition to unseal Epstein-related federal grand jury transcripts. The court noted that DOJ had requested disclosure of materials from grand jury investigations 05-02 (WPB) and 07-103 (WPB), subject to redactions for victims and other private individuals. Judge Robin L. Rosenberg focused the parties on Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which codifies grand jury secrecy. The order explains that in the Eleventh Circuit, disclosure is limited to the exceptions identified in Rule 6(e)(3)(E). The court observed that DOJ's petition did not clearly state which of those exceptions applied, while also acknowledging binding authority that limited a district court's ability to release grand jury materials based only on broader public-interest grounds. The order also asked DOJ to address transfer. DOJ had suggested that, if the Florida court concluded the petition arose from proceedings in another district, the request could be transferred to the Southern District of New York. The court therefore required supplemental briefing on whether the request actually arose out of the New York criminal proceedings and whether transfer under Rule 6(e)(3)(G) was available. The document is a useful procedural bridge. It does not decide whether the transcripts should be released. Instead, it isolates the two issues that controlled the July 2025 litigation: whether any Rule 6(e) exception allowed release in the Eleventh Circuit, and whether a Florida grand jury secrecy question could be shifted to a New York court because of the later Epstein and Maxwell prosecutions there. 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/EFTA02819485.pdf