Epstein documents could still be released despite Trump — here’s how

In an article for the Guardian published Sunday, journalist Victoria Bekiempis argued that while political pressure to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has so far proven ineffective, a variety of legal efforts could still succeed in bringing key documents into public view.

She noted that during the campaign, President Donald Trump vowed that his administration would release a tranche of documents in the criminal investigation into the disgraced late financier.

But that commitment has mostly gone unfulfilled. The continued secrecy, she said, has not only frustrated those demanding insight into Epstein’s crimes but has also fueled political backlash — particularly regarding Trump’s own connections to the convicted sex trafficker.

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However, according to Bekiempis, several active lawsuits suggest that even if the Justice Department resists, court orders may still prompt the release of substantial files relating to Epstein, his criminal conduct and his associations with some of the most influential individuals in the United States.

She added that the Justice Department’s atypical request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the criminal cases against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell could undermine the rationale for continued nondisclosure.

One particular case brought by Radar Online and investigative reporter James Robertson originated from an April 2017 public‐records request submitted to the FBI. It sought documents tied to the FBI's Epstein investigation. That request came years after Epstein’s plea of guilt to state charges in Florida for soliciting a minor, but before his 2019 federal arrest in New York on child sex‑trafficking counts.

Radar and Robertson filed a lawsuit in May 2017 after the FBI failed to respond. Under a court order, the bureau later agreed to release documents at a pace of 500 pages per month, according to filings in the case.

In court papers, they noted: “Despite the FBI identifying at least 11,571 pages of responsive documents, 10,107 of those pages remain withheld nearly 20 years after the events at issue,”

Even though Epstein died by suicide in custody before his trial, and Maxwell is already serving a 20‑year sentence, the FBI continues to argue that releasing more records would interfere with ongoing law‑enforcement activities, citing FOIA exemptions.

She reported that a federal judge in Manhattan upheld those exemptions in the public‑records suit, but Radar is appealing the decision. That appeal may be heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals this fall, offering another potential path to transparency.

Bekiempis further noted that civil courts are now emerging as perhaps the best path to unlock sealed materials related to Epstein and Maxwell.

Last year, a federal judge ordered the unsealing of many documents in Virginia Giuffre Roberts’s defamation suit against Ghislaine Maxwell, though some filings stayed sealed. Journalists challenged that through intervention and appeal.

Then, on July 23, the Second Circuit ruled that it had found “no error in the district court’s decisions not to unseal or make public many of the documents at issue,” while also directing that the lower court reexamine those documents on a case‑by‑case basis to assess whether they can now be released.

According to Courthouse News Service, Sigrid McCawley, Robert's attorney, said she was “thrilled with the decision” and added she was “hopeful that this order leads to the release of more information about Epstein’s monstrous sex trafficking operation and those who facilitated it and participated in it."