Federal judge says court's 'hands are tied' and rejects Trump administration's bid to release Epstein transcripts

A judge has denied the Department of Justice's request to release transcripts from two of the investigations into convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but others are still being considered in separate requests.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the DOJ made the request from several federal courts to release material from the Epstein case after a public furor over disappointing revelations from Trump officials on the case.

Rosenberg cited rules set by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and noted that the government conceded.

U.S. District Court Judge Robin Rosenberg of the Southern District of Florida said the "court's hands are tied" in her ruling to keep the transcripts sealed from grand jury investigations in 2005 and 2007 into Epstein. Rosenberg cited rules set by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and noted that the government conceded.

Epstein's confidante Ghislaine Maxwell is serving 20 years in prison over sex trafficking charges.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 but received a slap on the wrist, whereas further charges in 2019 were dropped when he was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell while awaiting trial.

Rosenberg's ruling applies to the investigations from West Palm Beach, but other requests have been made for grand jury transcripts from New York investigations into Epstein in 2019 and one of Maxwell in 2020.

The judges in those cases are not bound by the rules set by the 11th Circuit.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not say whether they would appeal the decision and added only that she would "let this president speak to whether he wants to see an appeal."

Maxwell has indicated that she would truthfully reveal what she knows if she were called to testify before a congressional panel about what she saw as Epstein's accomplice.

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President Donald Trump has lashed out at some of his supporters who have demanded that more information be released about the infamous pedophile case.

"[Democrats'] new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls**t,' hook, line, and sinker," Trump said Wednesday. "They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years."

The next day, he ordered the request to be made to release the grand jury information.

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