The U.S. Department of Justice has renewed its request for the unsealing of grand-jury materials connected to the criminal investigations of financier Jeffrey Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, citing newly enacted legislation that it says compels public release. The request comes amid persistent public and political scrutiny over what has been dubbed the “Epstein files” and the government’s handling of them.
In a filing on 24 November 2025, the Justice Department addressed a Manhattan federal court, urging the release of transcripts and exhibits from the grand-jury proceedings that led to Epstein’s July 2019 federal indictment and Maxwell’s subsequent prosecution. The submission, signed by New York U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and signed off by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, referenced the recently passed Epstein Files Transparency Act, arguing it “manifests a congressional intent to override some of the underlying bases for grand-jury secrecy.”
That law — the Epstein Files Transparency Act — was introduced in mid-2025, passed both houses of Congress in November and signed by President Donald Trump on 19 November.
Clayton’s filing asked that a deadline be set for responses from Maxwell and the known victims, with the government’s reply to follow shortly thereafter, and a ruling to be scheduled.