Thegrand jury transcriptsPresidentDonald Trumpis seeking in New York as he tries to quell his base's outrage over the White House'sdecision not to release files related to Jeffrey Epsteincover only two witnesses, according to the Justice Department. Those witnesses are an FBI agent and a detective with the New York Police Department, DOJ officials said in aJuly 29 court filing. Both witnesses testified in the federal grand jury proceedings that led to charges againstconvicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a20-year prison sentence. Only the FBI agent testified before the grand jury thatcharged Epstein with sex trafficking in 2019. The fact that just two people are on the witness list, both members of law enforcement, could mean the transcripts might not be revelatory, even if they are released. A Manhattan federal district court is currently deciding whether to unseal the records for public viewing. A Florida federal district court separatelyruled July 23 that Epstein-related recordstied to federal grand jury proceedings in that state must remain private. The New York police detective who testified in the Maxwell-related proceedings in Manhattan was serving with the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force at the time, according to the Justice Department. The Justice Department offered a couple of indications in the latest court filing that the transcripts might not reveal much that the public doesn't already know. In addition to just having two witnesses in the transcripts, the court filing suggests that at least a significant portion of what those witnesses said may have been repeated at trial by victims of Epstein and Maxwell. In other words, it wouldn't be new information to the public. "Many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell that were the subject of grand jury testimony testified at trial consistent with the accounts described by an FBI agent and the detective," according to the Justice Department's filing. Some of the victims also publicized their accounts in the context of civil lawsuits, the department added. Several witnesses testified in Maxwell's month-long trial in 2021, which ended with her conviction for conspiring to entice and transport minors for illegal sex acts with Epstein and sex trafficking a minor to him. Prosecutors said Maxwell helped Epstein recruit, groom, and abuse minor girls from about 1994 to about 2004, including girls as young as 14. Justice Department officials asked for the transcripts to be released at the request of Trump, whosaid in a Truth Social post on July 17that he made the request based on "the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein." Department officials have called for redacting personal identifying information if courts approve of making the records public. That caveat could further disappoint members of the public who have clamored for the government to release the names of any potential Epstein clients suspected of participating with the disgraced financier in a sex-trafficking ring. Several officials in Trump's administration havefanned the flames of those conspiracies for years, includingFBI Director Kash Patel, whotold right-wing media figure Glenn Beckin 2023 that the head of PresidentJoe Biden's FBI had direct control of an Epstein "black book." However, ina memo released July 7, the Justice Department and the FBI said a review of the government's records on Epsteinfailed to turn up a client listand that no further disclosures were warranted. In the wake of that memo, even some congressional Republicans have clamored for the files' release orintroduced legislationto try to force the Trump administration's hand.Republican leadership has so far blocked the legislation, and White House officials continue to resist those calls. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury records cover only two witnesses
