Order Denying Petition to Unseal Florida Federal Grand Jury Transcripts

ORDER DENYING 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 Entered: July 23, 2025 This order denied the Justice Department's July 2025 petition to unseal federal Epstein grand jury transcripts from West Palm Beach. The court stated that the Government sought transcripts from investigations 05-02 (WPB) and 07-103 (WPB), with redactions for victim-related and identifying information, but concluded that Eleventh Circuit law did not permit the requested release. Judge Robin L. Rosenberg relied on the Eleventh Circuit's en banc decision in Pitch v. United States. Under that precedent, a district court lacks inherent or common-law authority to disclose grand jury materials outside the exceptions written into Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e). The order explained that DOJ had not identified a Rule 6(e)(3)(E) exception that authorized public release of the Epstein transcripts. The court emphasized that, whatever the public interest, its authority was confined by the rule and binding appellate precedent. The order also rejected transfer to the Southern District of New York. It reasoned that the petition concerned Florida federal grand jury proceedings and that the transfer mechanism did not apply merely because later Epstein-related prosecutions occurred in New York. This document is a key stopping point in the 2025 pre-statute unsealing effort. It does not decide that the transcripts lack public importance; rather, it says the court could not disclose them through the legal route DOJ selected. That distinction matters because later transparency efforts turned to legislation rather than ordinary court discretion under Rule 6(e). 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/EFTA02819502.pdf