Epstein grand jury transcript release a distraction, not a revelation, former prosecutors say
A Justice Department request to unseal grand jury transcripts in the prosecution of chronic sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend is unlikely to produce much, if anything, to satisfy the public's appetite for new revelations about the financier's crimes, former federal prosecutors say.
Article content
Attorney Sarah Krissoff, an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan from 2008 to 2021, called the request in the prosecutions of Epstein and imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell 'a distraction.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
'The president is trying to present himself as if he's doing something here and it really is nothing,' Krissoff told The Associated Press in a weekend interview.
Article content
Article content
The request came as the administration sought to contain the firestorm that followed its announcement that it would not be releasing additional files from the Epstein probe despite previously promising that it would.
Article content
Epstein killed himself at age 66 in his federal jail cell in August 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges, while Maxwell, 63, is serving a 20-year prison sentence imposed after her December 2021 sex trafficking conviction for luring girls to be sexually abused by Epstein.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Krissoff and Joshua Naftalis, a Manhattan federal prosecutor for 11 years before entering private practice in 2023, said grand jury presentations are purposely brief.
Article content
Article content
Naftalis said Southern District prosecutors present just enough to a grand jury to get an indictment but 'it's not going to be everything the FBI and investigators have figured out about Maxwell and Epstein.'
Article content
'People want the entire file from however long. That's just not what this is,' he said, estimating that the transcripts, at most, probably amount to a few hundred pages.
Article content
'It's not going to be much,' Krissoff said, estimating the length at as little as 60 pages, 'because the Southern District of New York's practice is to put as little information as possible into the grand jury.'
Article content
'They basically spoon-feed the indictment to the grand jury. That's what we're going to see,' she said. 'I just think it's not going to be that interesting. … I don't think it's going to be anything new.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
26 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Belgium questions 2 Israelis at music festival over Gaza crime allegations
BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police questioned two members of the Israeli army who were attending a music festival in Belgium over allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor's Office in Brussels said in a statement Monday. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said an Israeli citizen and an Israeli soldier who were on vacation in Belgium 'were taken in yesterday for interrogation and were released shortly afterward.' It said Israeli authorities 'dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two.'
Winnipeg Free Press
26 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Latest: Harvard heads to court in $2.6B lawsuit against Trump administration
Harvard University is in federal court Monday to make the case that President Donald Trump's administration illegally cut $2.6 billion from the storied college. It's a pivotal moment in the school's battle against the federal government. If U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would reverse a series of funding freezes that later became outright cuts as the administration escalated its fight with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. Such a ruling, if it stands, would revive Harvard's sprawling scientific and medical research operation and hundreds of projects. Harvard's lawsuit accuses the administration of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a series of demands in an April 11 letter from a federal antisemitism task force. Here's the latest: Harvard has moved to self-fund some of its research However, even with the nation's largest endowment at $53 billion, the university has warned it can't absorb the full cost of the federal cuts. Federal agencies say grants can be scrapped if they no longer align with government policies In court filings, Harvard has said the government 'fails to explain how the termination of funding for research to treat cancer, support veterans, and improve national security addresses antisemitism.' The Trump administration denies the cuts were made in retaliation, saying the grants were under review even before the April demand letter was sent. It argues the government has wide discretion to cancel contracts for policy reasons. Hearing begins in Harvard's lawsuit over funding cuts A lawyer for Harvard opened the hearing by saying the Trump administration violated the university's First Amendment rights by cutting more than $2.6 billion in federal funding. Steven Lehotsky said the government conditioned research grants on Harvard, 'ceding control' to the government over what is appropriate for students and faculty to say. US envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention A U.S. envoy doubled down on Washington's support for Syria's new government, saying Monday there is 'no Plan B' to working with it to unite the country still reeling from years of civil war and wracked by new sectarian violence. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Tom Barrack also criticized Israel's recent intervention in Syria, calling it poorly timed and saying it complicated efforts to stabilize the region. Barrack is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, with a short-term mandate in Lebanon. He spoke in Beirut following more than a week of clashes in Syria's southern province of Sweida between militias of the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes. Tom Barrack, who is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria and also has a short-term mandate in Lebanon, told The Associated Press that Israel's intervention in the latest round of conflict in Syria had further complicated matters. (AP Video shot by Fadi Tawil; Production by Abby Sewell) Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to restore order, but ended up siding with the Bedouins before withdrawing under a ceasefire agreement with Druze factions. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, and some government fighters allegedly shot dead Druze civilians and burned and looted homes. Neighboring Israel intervened last week on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military. Israel launched dozens of strikes on convoys of government forces in Sweida and struck the Ministry of Defense headquarters in central Damascus. Over the weekend, Barrack announced a ceasefire between Syria and Israel. Syrian government forces have redeployed in Sweida to halt renewed clashes between the Druze and Bedouins, and civilians from both sides were set to be evacuated Monday. Trump threatens to hold up stadium deal if Washington Commanders don't switch back to Redskins Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for Washington's NFL team if it does not restore its old name of the Redskins, which was considered offensive to Native Americans. Trump also said Sunday that he wants Cleveland's baseball team to revert to its former name, the Indians, saying there was a 'big clamoring for this' as well. The Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians have had their current names since the 2022 seasons, and both have said they have no plans to change them back. Trump said the Washington football team would be 'much more valuable' if it restored its old name. His latest interest in changing the name reflects his broader effort to roll back changes that followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice. The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site of the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades.
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Ex-police officer involved in Breonna Taylor case faces sentencing
A former Louisville police officer will be sentenced on Monday for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed, with President Donald Trump's Justice Department asking the judge to imprison him for just one day. The surprising request by the department's Civil Rights Division angered members of Taylor's family, some of whom may address the court on Monday ahead of the hearing to sentence former detective Brett Hankison. The hearing is due to start at 1:30 p.m. EST. Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers in March 2020 after they used a no-knock warrant at her home. Her boyfriend, believing they were intruders, fired on the officers with a legally owned firearm, prompting them to return fire. Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the U.S. over the treatment of people of color by police departments. Story continues below advertisement During President Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd's deaths. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Hankison was convicted by a federal jury in November 2024 of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. 1:17 Breonna Taylor death: U.S. Justice Department opens investigation into Louisville police practices He was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. The Justice Department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Taylor's home, saying he 'did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.' The memo was notable because it was not signed by any of the career prosecutors who had tried the case. It was submitted on July 16 by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee appointed by Trump to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and her counsel Robert Keenan. Story continues below advertisement Keenan previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he argued that a local deputy sheriff convicted of civil rights violations, Trevor Kirk, should have his conviction on the felony counts struck and should not serve prison time. The efforts to strike the felony conviction led several prosecutors on the case to resign in protest, according to media reports and a person familiar with the matter. The department's sentencing recommendation in the Hankison case marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to put the brakes on the department's police accountability work. Earlier this year, Dhillon nixed plans to enter into a court-approved settlement with the Louisville Police Department, and rescinded the Civil Rights Division's prior findings of widespread civil rights abuses against people of color. Attorneys for Taylor's family called the department's sentencing recommendation for Hankison an insult, and urged the judge to 'deliver true justice' for her. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings on Friday denied Hankison's request for a new trial. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch;Editing by Noeleen Walder and Helen Popper)
