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The Justice Department asked a federal judge this afternoon to unseal grand jury testimony from the prosecution of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. President Trump had requested the move in an effort to dispel a storm of criticism and conspiracy theories coming from many of his supporters.
The request was filed in Manhattan, where Epstein was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges six years ago when he was found dead by hanging in his jail cell about a month after he was arrested. The government also sought the unsealing of grand jury testimony from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, the socialite who was convicted of helping Epstein facilitate his sex trafficking scheme. You can read the Justice Department’s full request here.
Obtaining court approval for unsealing the testimony could be difficult because the records are shielded by grand jury secrecy laws, to protect crime victims and witnesses. Judges rarely agree to grant public access to such materials.
In related news, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal’s parent company over a report that he sent a birthday greeting with a sexually suggestive drawing to Epstein in 2003. The president insisted he doesn’t “draw pictures,” but many of his sketches have sold at action.
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