In a major push for transparency, President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is turning up the heat on federal courts to unseal long-hidden grand jury records tied to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s notorious sex trafficking network—one that many believe has ties to powerful elites still protected by the deep state.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors filed late-night motions urging U.S. District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer to release sealed testimony from the grand juries that led to the indictments of Epstein and Maxwell. The Justice Department had initially requested access on July 18 but was told to provide stronger legal reasoning for lifting the long-standing veil of secrecy.

According to Reuters, prosecutors argued that releasing the records is justified by the “abundant public interest” surrounding the case and the persistent questions about how federal authorities handled the original investigations—especially under previous administrations.

Epstein’s name has become synonymous with high-level corruption and cover-ups, with critics alleging that his “suicide” in a federal jail cell in 2019 was anything but. He had been awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges and had pleaded not guilty. Maxwell, his longtime confidante and enabler, was convicted in 2021 and is now serving a 20-year sentence in Florida. She, too, pleaded not guilty and is currently appealing her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

President Trump, facing mounting pressure from conservatives who have long called for full exposure of Epstein’s client network, recently directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue the release of grand jury transcripts from both cases. The move came after the DOJ declared that Epstein's death was a suicide and claimed no “client list” existed—an assertion that only fueled deeper skepticism among Trump’s America First base.

Despite the push for sunlight, not all courts are cooperating. Last week, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida denied a Trump administration request to unseal Epstein-related grand jury records from 2005 and 2007. In her 12-page ruling, Rosenberg claimed that federal appeals court precedent tied her hands, stating, “Eleventh Circuit law does not permit this Court to grant the Government’s request; the Court’s hands are tied—a point the Government concedes,” as reported by Fox News.

The grand jury materials in question could reveal more about who knew what—and when—regarding Epstein’s global trafficking network and whether politically connected figures were shielded by the Obama-era DOJ and FBI. However, Reuters noted that some of the key testimony may already have surfaced during Maxwell’s 2021 trial, including statements from alleged victims, Epstein associates, and law enforcement.

Still, these sealed documents are just the tip of the iceberg. Grand jury proceedings represent only a fraction of what federal investigators may have gathered—including leads that didn’t result in charges and witness interviews that were never made public.

Adding further intrigue, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche—formerly President Trump’s personal lawyer—held two days of closed-door meetings last week with Ghislaine Maxwell at her Florida prison. According to sources familiar with the visit, the talks centered on whether Maxwell would cooperate and name other individuals involved in criminal conduct tied to the trafficking network. Neither Blanche nor Maxwell’s attorney, David Markus, have disclosed details.

Epstein’s original sweetheart plea deal in 2008, which allowed him to serve just 13 months in jail for state-level prostitution charges, remains a stain on the justice system—a deal orchestrated under a Democrat-led prosecution that left victims voiceless and justice undone.

President Trump’s administration is now working to undo that legacy of silence.