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A U.S. judge has ruled that the Department of Justice can proceed with the public release of investigative materials from the sex-trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein.

Judicial Ruling Paves the Way for Records Release

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the ruling after the DOJ asked the court in November to unseal grand jury transcripts and exhibits from the cases of Epstein and Maxwell. This action could lead to the release of hundreds or thousands of hitherto sealed documents.

The court's ruling, which follows the recent passage of the Transparency Act, means these materials could be released within a 10-day window. The new law requires the DOJ to provide pertaining to Epstein records in a digitally searchable form by December 19.

Judicial Pattern of Unsealing

Engelmayer is the latest jurist to permit the DOJ to release previously secret records from the Epstein case. Recently, a Florida judge granted a similar request to release transcripts from an earlier federal probe into Epstein from the 2000s.

A further petition concerning records from Epstein's 2019 criminal case is still under consideration.

Scope of Release Significantly Enlarged

The Justice Department has stated that Congress aimed for this disclosure when it passed the transparency act. The latest request dramatically enlarged the scope of files slated for release to include 18 categories of evidence gathered during the wide-ranging sex-trafficking investigation.

These documents are reported to include items such as:

• Court-issued warrants
• Banking documents
• Notes from victim interviews
• Electronic device data
• Evidence from prior probes in Florida

Case Background

Jeffrey Epstein, a financier, was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges. He was discovered deceased in a prison cell a month later, with his death ruled a suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex-trafficking charges in December 2021 and is currently serving a two-decade sentence.

The federal authorities has indicated it is conferring with survivors and their lawyers and will edit records to safeguard victim anonymity and stop the sharing of sensitive imagery.

Previous Disclosures

A significant number of pages of records related to Epstein and Maxwell have already been released through different channels, including lawsuits, public disclosures, and Freedom of Information Act requests.

Much of the material the DOJ now intends to disclose originates from photos, videos, and reports gathered by police in Florida and the federal prosecutor's office there, both of which looked into Epstein in the mid-2000s.

That investigation concluded in 2008 with a then-secret arrangement that enabled Epstein to evade federal prosecution by pleading guilty to a state prostitution charge. He served 13 months in a work-release program.