Trump administration asks for Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury testimony to be unsealed
After another week of drama surrounding convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump has finally bowed to pressure and has made a huge demand.
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The Trump administration asked a Manhattan federal judge to unseal grand jury transcripts in the cases against late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
The nearly identical motions stated that “intense public scrutiny” justified the release of the transcripts, despite Maxwell seeking an appeal of her conviction and 20-year sentence on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Epstein, 66, died in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Multiple investigations have determined that he committed suicide, but conspiracy theories about his case have persisted.
Previously, President Trump asked Attorney-General Pam Bondi to release “pertinent” grand jury testimony.
“Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney-General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” the president added.
Mr Trump’s decision followed intense pressure from his base for more transparency in the case, and comes hours after The Wall Street Journal published a story about a note he allegedly wrote to Epstein.
Mr Trump then sued Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion over the publication of a bombshell report on his friendship with the infamous alleged sex trafficker.
The defamation lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, saw the 79-year-old Republican hitting back at a scandal threatening to cause serious political damage.
“We have just filed a POWERHOUSE Lawsuit against everyone involved in publishing the false, malicious, defamatory, FAKE NEWS ‘article’ in the useless ‘rag’ that is, The Wall Street Journal,” Trump posted on Truth Social late Friday.
The Journal reported Thursday that in 2003, the then-real estate magnate wrote a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein, illustrated with a naked woman and referring to their shared “secret.” The lawsuit, which also names two reporters and Murdoch’s company News Corp. as defendants, claims that no such letter exists and that the Journal intended to malign Trump with an article already viewed by hundreds of millions of people.
Wall Street Journal owner Dow Jones said Friday it will “vigorously defend” against legal action.
“We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit,” a Dow Jones spokesperson said in a statement.
Grand jury testimony in the Epstein case took place in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York — and Bondi indicated that she would petition the court Friday for the release of the files.
“President Trump — we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” Bondi wrote on X.
It comes after a US federal prosecutor who handled the case of Epstein and is the daughter of a prominent critic of Mr Trump has been abruptly fired, US media reported.
Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was dismissed on Wednesday from her position as an assistant US lawyer in Manhattan, several major US outlets reported.
The Justice Department declined to confirm Comey’s firing to AFP, saying it would have “no comment on personnel.” Politico published a message Comey, who spent 10 years in the US attorney’s office, sent to her former colleagues in which she said she had been “summarily fired” by the Justice Department with no reason given.
She also encouraged them not to fall prey to “fear.”
“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” Comey said.
“Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant.”
Comey’s dismissal comes a week after the Justice Department confirmed it had opened an unspecified criminal investigation into her father, a long-time Trump adversary.
It also comes amid mounting pressure on Trump to release material from the probe into Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking.
Comey was among the prosecutors who handled the case involving the wealthy financier, which never went to trial because of his death.
She also prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell, the only former Epstein associate who has been criminally charged in connection with his activities.
Mr Trump is facing the most serious split in his loyal right-wing base since he returned to power over claims his administration is covering up lurid details of Epstein’s crimes to protect rich and powerful figures.
The Trump-supporting far-right has long latched on to the scandal, claiming the existence of a still-secret list of Epstein’s powerful clients and that the late financier was in fact murdered in his cell as part of a cover-up.
The Justice Department and FBI said this month that there was no evidence that Epstein kept a “client list” or was blackmailing powerful figures.
Comey’s father, the former FBI chief, has had a contentious history with Trump dating back to his first term in the White House.
Mr Trump fired Comey in 2017 as the then-FBI chief was leading an investigation into whether any members of the Trump campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential vote, in which the Republican beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
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