Latest news with #grandjury
CNN
an hour ago
- Politics
- CNN
DOJ Seeks To Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Docs - The Source with Kaitlan Collins - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
DOJ Seeks To Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Docs The Source with Kaitlan Collins 48 mins A look at what the Justice Department says is in the Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents and statements that likely won't satisfy the MAGA base.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Epstein grand jury transcripts sought by Trump DOJ may do little to quell the controversy: docs
The grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal cases — which the Trump administration is trying to get unsealed in a bid to satisfy demands for more transparency — contain testimony from just two law enforcement witnesses that may do little to answer questions surrounding President Donald Trump's role in the sordid saga. Papers filed by the Justice Department in Manhattan Federal Court just before midnight Tuesday revealed that the only people who testified before the grand juries that indicted Epstein and Maxwell were members of law enforcement. An unnamed FBI agent summarized investigative findings to Epstein's grand jury. The same agent testified before Maxwell's, in addition to an unnamed NYPD officer assigned to the FBI's child exploitation and human trafficking task force. Both witnesses are alive and still on the job, the filings added. Manhattan judges had asked the Trump administration to flesh out the specifics of recent requests to unseal the confidential materials at issue. The late Tuesday filings responding to the judges' queries were signed by Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the deputy AG and Trump's former personal lawyer Todd Blanche. The names of the prosecutors who handled the Epstein and Maxwell cases were notably absent, including that of Maurene Comey, whom the Trump administration abruptly fired without reason this month. Trump has encountered sustained scrutiny over his ties to Epstein, which has intensified following exposés in The Wall Street Journal reporting that his name featured multiple times in nonpublic Epstein files and that he wrote a cryptic message to Epstein on the financier's 50th birthday. His top law enforcement officials have similarly faced backlash for backtracking on promises to blow the lid off the well-connected wealth manager's enablers. As the scandal continued to grow, the Justice Department pressed judges to make the normally sealed grand jury transcripts public. '(T)here is undoubtedly a clearly expressed interest from the public in Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes,' the late-night filing read. But Tuesday's disclosure of what's contained within the transcripts raises questions about whether it will quell the public's demands for more information. Those demands have primarily centered around powerful people who may have participated in Epstein's abuse, how the Coney Island native who never attended university made his millions, and his August 2019 death in a jail cell at the now-shuttered Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, which was officially ruled a suicide. Tuesday's filings noted the grand jury testimony largely covered accounts that were publicly shared by victims at Maxwell's trial and in related civil lawsuits, suggesting little, if anything, will be new. The filings said government lawyers had not contacted victims when they first made the request, which Manhattan Federal Judges Paul Engelmayer and Richard Berman asked about, but had since provided notice to all but one, whom they had been unable to reach. The filings also said the Justice Department would propose redacting certain information related to victims and 'parties who neither have been charged or alleged to be involved in the crimes with which Epstein and Maxwell were charged.' In an accompanying sealed filing, the Justice Department listed victims whose experiences with Epstein and Maxwell were conveyed to grand jurors by the law enforcement officers and who among them testified at Maxwell's trial in late 2021. Four women took the stand against Maxwell: Jane and Kate, which are pseudonyms; Annie Farmer, and Carolyn Andriano. Tuesday's filings noted that some victims are now dead, without specifying who. Andriano died of an overdose in 2023. In devastating testimony at Maxwell's trial, she described the British heiress groping her when she was 14, grooming her to be repeatedly sexually abused by Epstein, and taking a keen interest in her history of being raped and sexually abused as a small child. She told the jury she had become addicted to pain medication and cocaine during the abuse. Another woman who accused Epstein of abusing her, Leigh Skye Patrick, died of a drug overdose in 2017, at the age of 29. In April of this year, one of Epstein and Maxwell's most vocal accusers, Virginia Giuffre, died by suicide. A teenage Giuffre appeared in a now-infamous photo with Prince Andrew and Maxwell that has come to symbolize the Epstein saga, showing the British royal, who attended Oxford with Maxwell, with his hand around Giuffre's waist and Maxwell smiling in the background. Prince Andrew settled a lawsuit with Giuffre in January 2022 for reportedly in the millions. Giuffre didn't take the stand at Maxwell's trial. Still, jurors heard from Epstein's former house manager, Juan Alessi, about Maxwell poaching her from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where she had a summer job as a locker room attendant, and an attorney read her victim impact statement at Maxwell's sentencing. Trump on Wednesday provided a new explanation for his and Epstein's falling-out after a 15-year friendship, claiming it was because Epstein 'stole' Giuffre from him. Amid the renewed interest in Epstein, his convicted madame, Maxwell, is trying to persuade the Supreme Court to review her conviction and is lobbying to get out of prison. She was convicted of sex trafficking Epstein's victims, including a minor, in December 2021 and is serving out a 20-year sentence in Tallahassee, Fla. Last week, the former British socialite was granted limited immunity in a set of interviews with Blanche. Separately, the GOP-led House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed her to testify next month. Asked about the possibility he'll pardon Maxwell, Trump hasn't said what he would do if asked, only that he has the power to do so. _____
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Owner likely won't face charges in Alabama dog attack that killed 7-year-old
CLANTON − Nine dogs have been euthanized as part of the investigation into a fatal dog mauling in Chilton County where a seven-year-old boy died. And the owner likely won't be facing criminal charges, the sheriff said. Deputies went to the County Road 147 area near Calera on July 22 about 6:10 p.m. and found that the child had suffered serious injuries as the result of an attack "... by one or more aggressive dogs," a post on the Chilton County Sheriff's Office Facebook page states. The child was taken for medical treatment but died from their injuries, the post states. The owner of the nine dogs has cooperated with the investigation, surrendered the animals and will likely not face charges, said Sheriff John Shearon. The dogs were on their owner's property when the attack occurred, he said. The boy was riding an all-terrain vehicle at the time, the Shearon said. He declined to release more specific information, citing the ongoing investigation. "When we are through with the investigation, we will present it to the grand jury," Shearon said. "That's standard procedure in a case like this, especially where you have the death of the child." More: Wetumpka man dies after Wednesday crash: State police The following is a list of the dogs that were euthanized: Male, six months old, shepherd mix, 34 pounds. Male, six months old, pit bull terrier mix, 31.5 pounds. Male, six months old, shepherd mix, 26 pounds. Female, one and a half years old, Labrador retriever mix, 25 pounds. Male, two year old, hound mix, 36 pounds. Female, six months old, Labrador retriever mix, 28 pounds. Female, six months old pit bull terrier mix, 24 pounds. Female, three years old, pit bull terrier/Akita mix, 60 pounds. Male, two and a half years old, shepherd mix, 48 pounds. The investigation may never point to which dogs were involved in the attack, Shearon said. "There were a total of 11 dogs on the property," he said. "One was in the house and one was tied up. So we know they couldn't have been part of the attack." Chilton County has a law that bars dogs from running at large. "The dogs were on the owner's property. They had not been deemed vicious in the past," Shearon said. "So they were not running at large." More: Rep. Terri Sewell condemns Congress' actions canceling massive Montgomery grant Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@ To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Dog owner likely won't face charges in Chilton County fatal mauling
CBS News
9 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Epstein grand jury transcripts only contain testimony from two witnesses, DOJ officials say
The grand jury transcripts that the Justice Department is attempting to unseal from the investigations into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell contain testimony from only two law enforcement officers, top Justice Department officials said in a court filing late Tuesday. The grand juries that indicted Epstein and Maxwell did not hear direct testimony from any alleged victims, Attorney General Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told a judge in the Southern District of New York in their attempts to unseal the testimony. They said the testimony is just that of two witnesses, an FBI agent and a New York Police Department detective. It is not unusual for law enforcement to be the only witnesses testifying in front of a grand jury. The new information comes after President Trump directed Bondi and the Justice Department to move to unseal "any and all pertinent grand jury testimony," related to the federal investigations into Epstein and Maxwell in an attempt to quiet the political storm that has ensnared the Trump administration since the Justice Department and FBI said a review of the investigation related to disgraced financier found that there was no "client list" or evidence that he blackmailed prominent figures. Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 as he faced sex trafficking charges, with investigators ruling his death a suicide. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping him recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. This latest filing again urged the New York court to release the records, and tried to convince the judges overseeing the case that the release of more information would not harm Epstein and Maxwell's victims. "There is undoubtedly a clearly expressed interest from the public in Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes. Beyond that, there is abundant public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into those crimes," Justice Department leadership wrote in its argument that the transcripts should be released, adding that its goal in unsealing the information would "provide information to the public while remaining sensitive to protecting the rights of victims." The Justice Department also said in the filing that they have submitted a fuller list under seal of witnesses whose accounts were conveyed in the grand jury proceedings and another list of which witnesses testified at trial to the judges, and have informed notice to all but one victim who is referenced in the grand jury transcripts of their attempts to unseal them. "The Government has attempted to contact the remaining victim, but such efforts have been unsuccessful. In addition, the Government is in the process of providing notice to any other individuals identified in the transcripts," the Justice Department wrote. Last week, a federal judge in Florida denied the Justice Department's request to unseal grand jury material stemming from investigations in 2005 and 2007 into Epstein in the state. That ruling only applied to transcripts of proceedings by federal grand juries that were convened in Florida, and did not apply to the transcripts in New York. The New York federal court is bound by different circuit court precedent, meaning judges there could ultimately pave the way for that information to be released.
CNN
10 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Epstein and Maxwell grand jury transcripts include testimony from only two witnesses, Justice Department says
Grand jury transcripts the Justice Department is asking to unseal from its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell include testimony from only two witnesses, both law enforcement officials, according to a Justice Department memo submitted late Tuesday. The admission raises further questions about whether the Trump administration's long-shot bid to unseal the confidential material will be enough to satisfy the demand for more transparency surrounding the Epstein investigation. Earlier this month, the Justice Department filed a motion to unseal transcripts from grand juries used to investigate Epstein in New York and Florida. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche personally filed the unusual request, citing 'the public interest in the investigative work conducted by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation into Epstein…' The move came amid fierce backlash over the department's backtracking on a promise to release additional Epstein materials. The Florida request was swiftly denied, but Judge Richard Berman in New York asked for more specific details about why this information should be disclosed before ruling. Late Tuesday, the DOJ submitted its response to the court. 'Here the passage of time has not dulled the public's interest in these cases,' Jay Clayton, the interim US attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote. The memo disclosed previously unknown information about the witnesses who were used in the grand jury. 'Here, there was one witness – an FBI agent — during the Epstein grand jury proceedings. There were two witnesses – the same FBI agent from the Epstein grand jury proceedings and a detective with the NYPD who was a Task Force Officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force – during the Maxwell grand jury proceedings,' the memo stated. DOJ reiterated that victims testified at trial, but in the grand jury their testimony was read in by these investigators. '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 from the New York City Police Department ('NYPD') in the grand jury and some have also made public those factual accounts during civil litigation,' DOJ wrote. Epstein's 2019 death while awaiting trial has been ruled a suicide. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She met with Blanche last week to answer additional questions about the investigation, but it is unclear what she told the government or how it could impact her case. Berman has given victims and Epstein's representative until August 5 to weigh in on the DOJ's request. He says he will decide 'expeditiously.'
