DOJ Reveals Minimal Witness Testimony in Epstein & Maxwell Grand Jury Proceedings

In a late-night filing, the Department of Justice disclosed that only two witnesses ever testified before the grand juries investigating Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in New York. Much of that testimony, DOJ says, matches evidence already made public during their trials.

The revelation came as federal prosecutors faced a court-ordered deadline from a Southern District of New York judge to justify unsealing grand jury materials tied to the high-profile cases.

According to the DOJ’s memorandum, just one witness—an FBI agent—testified in the Epstein grand jury proceedings. The Maxwell grand jury heard from that same FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective who served as a Task Force Officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.

Many of the victims whose experiences were discussed in the grand jury have already testified publicly at trial, DOJ notes. Some have even shared their accounts during civil litigation, making large portions of the material already part of the public record.

The government says it will seek to redact any transcripts containing victim identities or other sensitive personal information. However, it also admitted it did not initially notify victims named in the transcripts. Since then, prosecutors say they have contacted all but one of those individuals.

This push to unseal the grand jury materials is part of an ongoing effort to bring more transparency to two of the most closely scrutinized criminal cases in recent history.