NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, is fighting to keep grand jury records sealed in the high-profile sex trafficking case that led to her imprisonment. Maxwell’s legal team argued Tuesday that the release of the transcripts would violate grand jury secrecy and infringe on her due process rights.
Maxwell herself has not reviewed the transcripts, as grand jury proceedings are conducted privately without the defendant or defense counsel present. Nevertheless, her attorneys are pushing back against efforts by federal prosecutors to unseal what they described as potentially “hearsay-laden” testimony, which they argue could unfairly prejudice ongoing legal matters.
“Public interest in Jeffrey Epstein does not justify a broad intrusion into the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, particularly in a case where the defendant remains alive, her appeals are ongoing, and her constitutional rights are still at stake,” defense attorneys David O. Markus and Melissa Madrigal wrote in a court filing.
Prosecutors declined to comment publicly but have urged the court to release the transcripts to address mounting public demand for transparency. However, they noted in recent court filings that much of the grand jury content is already known, having surfaced during Maxwell’s 2021 trial or through media coverage and victim statements.
They further clarified that only two witnesses testified before the grand jury—both law enforcement officials—and that their statements largely echoed evidence presented at trial. Prosecutors are seeking to unseal the transcripts of these testimonies but are not requesting the release of associated exhibits, some of which may contain sensitive material not previously made public.
The legal battle over the transcripts comes six years after Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, a death officially ruled a suicide, and four years after Maxwell was convicted of grooming underage girls for Epstein’s abuse. Maxwell has consistently denied the allegations and is currently appealing her conviction.
Political tensions surrounding the Epstein case have only grown. Allies of former President Donald Trump have long insisted there are deeper, hidden layers to the scandal. Some of these allies held influential roles within Trump’s Justice Department, only to face backlash after the department declared there would be no further disclosures and denied the existence of a rumored Epstein “client list.”
Despite efforts to shift focus, Trump reportedly instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to petition courts for the release of the grand jury transcripts. Last month, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted an interview with Maxwell at the government’s request. Shortly thereafter, Maxwell was quietly transferred from a federal facility in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas. No official explanation was given for the move.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Trump said he was unaware of Maxwell’s prison transfer and denied having discussed her recent interview with Blanche. “I think he [Blanche] just wants to ensure that people who had no involvement in this are not harmed by unnecessary disclosures. That would be very unfair to a lot of people,” Trump said.
The renewed scrutiny has now reached Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to the Justice Department for Epstein-related case files. The committee also announced plans to depose former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and eight former senior law enforcement officials under oath.
Both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump had prior social connections to Epstein, though they have consistently denied any knowledge of his criminal activities. None of Epstein’s accusers have alleged misconduct by either man.
