More Epstein Files Ordered Released
By Reuters | 10 Dec, 2025

The law recently passed by Congress compelled Manhattan District Court Judge Richard Berman to order release of records of a grand jury investigation into Epstein's activities involving underage women which are likely to implicate a large number of influential men.

A protester calling for a release of the Epstein files holds a sign while awaiting the arrival of Trump administration officials who are expected to discuss strategy amid the deepening political crisis over the administration’s handling of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, at the U.S. Naval Observatory, Vice President JD Vance's official residence, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/ File Photo

A U.S. judge in Manhattan on Wednesday allowed for the public release of records from a grand jury investigation into Jeffrey Epstein because of a law recently passed by Congress, the latest in a string of similar rulings.

The order by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman came one day after another judge granted a similar request in the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in prison for sex trafficking underage girls with Epstein.

The rulings could lead to disclosure of materials that shed more light on Epstein's ties to rich and powerful people, including President Donald Trump. 

Berman in August had denied a prior Justice Department request to unseal the grand jury materials, which are normally permanently sealed by law, citing “possible threats to victims’ safety and privacy." But the judge said in Wednesday's order that disclosure was now warranted because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into law last month.

Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death in a Manhattan jail in 2019 as he faced federal sex trafficking charges. Epstein's death was officially ruled a suicide.

Trump, who said he ended his friendship with Epstein long before the financier’s 2019 arrest, had opposed the release of the files but reversed course shortly before lawmakers voted on legislation. 

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Katharine Jackson; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Susan Heavey and Chizu Nomiyama )