🔗 Share this article Judge Decides DOJ May Make Public Maxwell Case Materials A U.S. judge has determined that the Justice Department can proceed with the disclosure of investigative materials from the sex-trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein. Judicial Ruling Paves the Way for Document Disclosure Judge Paul A. Engelmayer made the decision after the Justice Department formally requested in November to make public grand jury records and evidence from the cases of both Maxwell and Epstein. This request could lead to the publication of hundreds or thousands of hitherto sealed documents. The judge's decision, which comes in the wake of the recent passage of the Transparency Act, means these materials could be made public within a 10-day window. The new law requires the Justice Department to provide Epstein-related records in a searchable format by December 19. Judicial Pattern of Disclosure Engelmayer is the second judge to allow the DOJ to release previously secret records from the Epstein case. Recently, a Florida judge approved a similar request to release transcripts from an abandoned federal grand jury investigation into Epstein from the 2000s. A further petition concerning records from Epstein's 2019 sex-trafficking case remains pending. Breadth of Disclosure Greatly Expanded The Justice Department has stated that the U.S. Congress intended this disclosure when it enacted the transparency act. The most recent filing vastly expanded the range of files slated for release to include eighteen distinct types of investigative materials during the wide-ranging probe. These materials are reported to include items such as: Search warrants Banking documents Notes from victim interviews Electronic device data Evidence from prior probes in Florida Case Background Jeffrey Epstein, a financier, was taken into custody in July 2019 on federal charges. He was discovered deceased in a federal jail cell a month later, with his death officially deemed a suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex-trafficking charges in December 2021 and is currently serving a two-decade sentence. The government has indicated it is conferring with victims and their attorneys and will edit records to protect survivors' identities and prevent the dissemination of sensitive imagery. Previous Disclosures Tens of thousands of pages of documents related to Epstein and Maxwell have already been released through various means, including civil cases, official releases, and FOIA requests. Much of the material the Justice Department now intends to disclose originates from photos, videos, and reports gathered by police in Palm Beach, Florida and the federal prosecutor's office there, both of which looked into Epstein in the 2000s. That investigation concluded in 2008 with a then-secret arrangement that enabled Epstein to evade federal charges by entering a guilty plea to a state prostitution charge. He served 13 months in a work-release program.