The administration of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who seeks to relieve a uproar that affects his presidency, urged two judges to testify to a large jury that accused Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for sexual traffic charges.
In the presentations of the Night Court on Tuesday, Federal Prosecutors of the United States said that the revelation of the materials would be appropriate given the “abundant public interest” in the case of Epstein, the deceased financial and Maxwell, an imprisoned British socialite.
Republican Trump had promised to make public archives related to Epstein if they re -elected and accused the Democrats of covering up the truth. But this month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said that there was no list of previously promoted Epstein clients, that angry at Trump’s supporters.
The DOJ first sought the judicial permit on July 18 to make public transcripts of the confidential testimony granted by the witnesses years ago in both cases, but the judges of the US district based in Manhattan, Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer, asked the government to develop the legal basis for applications.
Trump has faced pressure to make public documents of federal research on Epstein, who died for suicide in 2019 while waiting for the trial for sexual trafficking positions, and his lifelong girlfriend, Maxwell, who was convicted of sexual trafficking in 2021.
Even if one or both judges allow transcripts to be public, it is not clear if the public would learn something new or notable.
In the presentations, prosecutors said the only witness in the Great Jury of Epstein was an FBI agent. That same agent and a detective from the New York City Police Department were the only witnesses in the Maxwell’s Grande, prosecutors said.
Maxwell’s four -week trial in 2021 included public testimony of alleged victims of sex trafficking, Epstein and Maxwell associates, and agents of the law. He is now serving a 20 -year prison sentence in Florida and is asking the United States Supreme Court to annul his conviction. He had declared himself innocent.
Trump’s supporters got angry
Unhealthy requests occurred after Trump earlier this month asked the attorney general Pam Bondi to seek the release of the transcripts of the Grand Jury. The president did it after the Department of Justice said that he concluded that Epstein died for suicide and that there was no incriminating list of his clients.
The announcement of the Department of Justice angered some of Trump’s conservative supporters who believe that the Government is covering Epstein’s ties with the rich and powerful and that the financial one was killed in jail.
Prosecutors call great jurors and meet secretly to listen to the testimony of witnesses and decide whether to accuse people suspected of crimes. The records of their procedures generally remain sealed. There are only limited circumstances under which such transcripts can be revealed.
Transcripts would not represent all unpublished material in government possession. Investigators and prosecutors can continue with potential clients who cannot justify or interview possible witnesses who do not ultimately call to testify to a large jury.
The American district judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida last week denied the request of the Administration to reveal records of the Grand Jury probes in 2005 and 2007 in that state to Epstein. The judge said the request did not fall into any of the limited exceptions that may allow the release of said material.
Democrats use the dark law to seek the release of Epstein archives
The Democrats moved today to force Trump to release files from research on Epstein, invoking a dark law to maintain pressure on the administration.
The president raised more questions about his last relationship with Epstein on Tuesday when he told journalists that he fell with his former friend after the financial dishonor “stole” the employees of the spa at their Mar-A-Lago resort.
The leader of the Senate Minority, Chuck Schumer, and the Democrats of the National Security Committee and Government Affairs, wrote to the Department of Justice requesting the materials under a section of the federal law known as the “Rule of the Five.”
The measure, introduced a century ago but rarely used, requires that government departments provide relevant information if the five members of the Senate’s main surveillance panel request it.
It is not clear if it could be applied in court, but even if the effort fails, it maintains attention on a subject that has overturned Trump’s summer, dividing the Republicans and leading to the early closure of the House of Representatives.
Trump has urged his supporters to eliminate the demands of Epstein’s archives, but the Democrats in Congress, with limited republican support, have been looking for a floor vote to force their release.
The Democrats of the Supervision Committee of the House of Representatives, backed by some Republicans, approved a citation last week for the Department of Justice to deliver the documents, although the claim has not yet been sent.
Legislators have also been looking for the testimony of Maxwell, whose lawyer has said that he would speak with the Government Supervision and Reform Committee of the House of Representatives if he is granted immunity for his testimony.
“The Supervision Committee will respond to Mrs. Maxwell’s lawyer soon, but will not consider granting the immunity of Congress for testimony,” said a panel spokesman.
The Democrats have also tried to attach the votes in Epstein’s archives to unrelated bills several times, which led the speaker Mike Johnson to send the legislators home for the summer one day in the early last week instead of risking to succeed.
“Donald Trump promised that he would launch Epstein’s archives while he was in the campaign. He made that promise and has not yet done so,” Schumer said in a speech on the Senate’s floor on Tuesday.
