Vigil with Epstein victims in November 2025 in Washington DCImage: keystone
Dec 6, 2025, 7:14 amDec 6, 2025, 7:14 am
Under pressure from Parliament, US President Donald Trump signed a law at the end of November to release investigative files in the case of the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – now a federal judge has ordered the release of certain documents in Florida.
This involves the protocols of a so-called grand jury from federal proceedings against Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The law signed by Trump gives the Justice Department until December 19 to release all files.
Judge cites new law
U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith in Fort Lauderdale said the recently passed federal declassification law took precedence over a rule prohibiting the release of grand jury matters. A grand jury is a group of jurors who, after the prosecution presents evidence, decides whether charges can be filed in a case.
In the summer, a federal judge in Florida rejected a request from the US government to release legal documents relating to the Epstein case. The US government had requested the release of the documents at the time. The significance of the grand jury documents is unclear.
Trump had always called for the files to be released during the election campaign, but then refused as president. But under pressure from Congress he had to act.
The multimillionaire Epstein had run an abuse ring for years, to which numerous young women and minors fell victim. There are said to have been many influential people among his clients. Almost 20 years ago, the case went to trial and Epstein pleaded guilty to certain charges. Years later, the case was reopened and the multimillionaire was arrested again.
Before a possible further verdict could be made, the financier died in his prison cell in 2019 at the age of 66. The autopsy report listed suicide as the cause of death.
(sda/dpa)