(NewsNation) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday asked a federal court to unseal transcripts from the grand jury that investigated sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before his 2019 death in jail.
Although such records are typically kept secret, Bondi asked in her motion that the U.S. District Court, New York Southern District make an exception, while protecting the identities of victims, given the “extensive public interest” in the case.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice and the FBI concluded evidence did not support investigating “uncharged third parties,” Bondi noted, a conclusion she said she still supports.
The attempt to effectively close the Epstein case has created a rift within the political base of President Donald Trump, with conspiracy theories abounding over the contents of unreleased records and about the circumstances surrounding Epstein’s death, which was ruled a suicide.
“Public officials, lawmakers, pundits, and ordinary citizens remain deeply interested
and concerned about the Epstein matter,” Bondi wrote.
Epstein, a jet-setting financier, died awaiting trial on charges he trafficked and abused underage girls at his properties in New York and Florida. His confidant, Ghislaine Maxwell, was later convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year sentence.
The multiple celebrities in Epstein’s orbit have included President Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, who have tried to distance themselves from the scandal. None have been accused of wrongdoing.
Some of Trump’s supporters, however, have pushed conspiracy theories about the potential culpability of rich and famous people who were associated with Epstein. Bondi, Trump’s attorney general, in February claimed she had the so-called “Epstein client list” on her desk, which observers say helped intensify a feeding frenzy over the case.
Trump has been frustrated by the story’s refusal to fade and even lashed out at some followers. This week, he asked Bondi to work on getting the grand-jury transcripts unsealed.
“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,” he wrote on the Truth Social platform. “This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”
Bondi’s request would cover secret testimony in the grand jury’s investigation into Epstein but not considerably more material in files compiled by investigators outside court.
“Here’s the problem: The grand-jury testimony is largely about Epstein and Maxwell, not about all the rich and powerful men who abused, assaulted, and abandoned young women,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said this week. “Those people are still being protected.”