Sealed Epstein documents to get fresh review in defamation case

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A federal appeals court opened the door to the release of some documents related to Jeffrey Epstein in a civil case brought by a victim of the disgraced financier.  

A three-judge panel in New York said Wednesday that a lower court judge had applied the wrong standard in keeping the documents sealed and ordered a new review. The defamation case was brought by Virginia Giuffre against Epstein’s former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Giuffre had accused Epstein of sexually abusing her as a teenager. She died by suicide in April. Giuffre’s family said at the time that the “toll of abuse” had become unbearable for her.  

The ruling comes amid a controversy sparked by the Trump administration’s decision not to release documents that could reveal some of Epstein’s clients. In the wake of the backlash, Attorney General Pam Bondi last week asked a New York court to unseal grand documents relating to the criminal investigation and prosecution of Epstein for sex trafficking. 

President Donald Trump said he has nothing to hide in connection with Epstein, saying the two fell out decades ago. Giuffre was one of Epstein’s most publicly visible victims, filing suits against him, Maxwell and Epstein others she claims abused her, including Britain’s Prince Andrew. 

The ruling came in a defamation case filed by Giuffre against Maxwell in 2015, after Maxwell publicly characterized as “obvious lies” Giuffre’s claims implicating Maxwell in Epstein’s sex trafficking. 

The Miami Herald and reporter Julie Brown challenged a ruling to seal many of the documents in the case, saying they should be publicly available. Maxwell opposed the unsealing.  

A lawyer for Maxwell didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment. The U.S. Congressional Oversight Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to subpoena Maxwell to testify about Epstein.  

In ordering the new review, the appeals panel said the trial court had incorrectly decided that some of the filings didn’t qualify as “judicial documents,” which are entitled to a presumption of public access. 

Epstein died in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while he was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. In 2024, several previously confidential documents related to Epstein were made public in federal court in New York.