‘FBI seeks to block secret Jeffrey Epstein files release amid possible Ghislaine Maxwell retrial’
Federal prosecutors have reportedly asked a judge to block the release of top-secret FBI files on the late Jeffrey Epstein – amid a possible retrial for his ‘madam’ Ghislaine Maxwell.
The Justice Department requested that a New York judge agree to a ‘categorical withdrawing’ of the files on Epstein, reported Knewz.com on Tuesday.
It comes as Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse girls, continues seeking a new trial.
The lead prosecutor in Maxwell’s case, Maurene Comey, admitted in a recent filing around a lawsuit that the undisclosed files could affect a jury appeal by Maxwell.
In 2017, RadarOnline.com sued the FBI for the full file on Epstein, who committed suicide in his jail cell while awaiting his trial for charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy. The agency has refused to release the records.
Comey on July 11 stated that the files cover matters that ‘go far beyond the issues covered during the first trial’. She said that the ‘premature release of the records would risk unduly influencing potential jurors for a retrial’.
‘The first trial focused primarily on the abuse of six victims, and many exhibits were received under seal to protect the privacy of those victims and other third parties,’ wrote Comey in the filing with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Comeyu added: ‘The withheld records include statements from and evidence regarding many more victims of Epstein and numerous witnesses who were not called or referenced during the first trial, including some who the Government may elect to call and/or reference if this case were to be retried.’
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Metro.co.uk on the report by Knewz.com, which states it ‘showcases independent-minded journalism’.
Maxwell appealed her sex trafficking conviction in March, claiming that she was imprisoned in order to satisfy ‘public outrage’. The disgraced British socialite argues that she should have been shielded by a 2007 non-prosecution agreement between her former lover and friend Epstein and Florida state.
She reiterated her claim that her conviction was swayed by a juror who did not disclose before her trial that he was sexually abused when he was a child.
The FBI has stated that releasing its entire Epstein file would ‘likely interfere with the prosecution of Maxwell’.
‘Regarding the remaining records, releasing the entirety of the FBI’s records relating to its investigation of Epstein in this FOIA litigation would interfere with any new trial of Maxwell in several ways,’ Comey said.
While Maxwell continues to fight for a retrial, some experts have said it appears unlikely the verdict will be reversed.
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