How grand jury testimony gets unsealed
President Trump, facing intense scrutiny from his base this week, directed Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday to release "pertinent grand jury testimony" from the case involving convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
"Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval," the president wrote in a post on his Truth Social website Thursday night. "This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!"
Bondi quickly confirmed online that she would follow Trump's directive.
It's not the first time high-profile Republican figures have sought to unseal documents in the Epstein case. It's unclear what exactly Bondi will ask for, whether judges will be responsive to Bondi's request, or whether the effort will be enough to subdue critics in the MAGA-verse.
Here's what to know about the Trump administration's latest move on the Epstein files.
What is the process for unsealing grand jury testimony
Grand jury transcripts, including ones related to the Epstein case, are typically confidential under law, but courts can decide to release them when public interest outweighs the legal protections they provide for informants, witnesses and people accused of crimes.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a law in February 2024 to unseal grand jury documents from Epstein's state case, which helped remove legal barriers. Joseph Abruzzo, the Democratic clerk of the circuit court and comptroller of Palm Beach County, released the records in July of that year.
Epstein previously reached a "non-prosecutorial agreement" in a prostitution case in the South District of Florida in 2007 and served a year behind bars after a federal grand jury investigation.
A decision to unseal the records in Epstein's federal case is subject to the approval of a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, where Epstein was charged before he died by suicide in 2019.
The Department of Justice didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request seeking additional information about how Bondi plans to pursue the release of additional documents, or what records she would request.
What is a grand jury
A grand jury, which is made up of citizens appointed at random from voter rolls, hears a prosecutor's case before deciding whether there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime
Epstein was indicted by a grand jury on sex trafficking charges in 2019 but died before his case was heard.
Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's associate and girlfriend, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty in 2022 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. She remains the only person convicted in his sex trafficking schemes.
Maxwell's case was chiefly handled by the U.S. Southern District of New York.
Grand jury testimony from Maxwell's case has been kept under seal, though multiple women testified in open court about her efforts to lure them into Epstein's sex predator scheme when they were youths.
The Fifth Amendment requires that all federal cases be heard by a grand jury, but grand juries aren't mandated in some state cases.
The grand juries do not determine guilt or innocence. In most cases, they don't hear defense arguments or evidence against charges.
What testimony does a grand jury hear
Evidence presented to a grand jury doesn't face the same legal restrictions as information released in open court.
It can include details from confidential informants, relayed via law enforcement; information from witnesses whose identities are to be protected for their safety; and other evidence obtained through clandestine law enforcement methods before the defense has an opportunity to refute them.
Alan Dershowitz, who helped get a plea deal for Epstein in 2008, has said that there’s no Epstein “client list,” but has said individuals accused of wrongdoing are named in the redacted FBI affidavit from accusers.
"Now, of course, because I was lawyer and I did all the investigations, I know who all these people are,” Dershowitz said earlier this week in an appearance on NewsNation’s “Cuomo.” He claimed no one named in the affidavit currently holds public office.