Attorney General Pam Bondi has moved swiftly to petition for the unsealing of grand jury transcripts in the Jeffrey Epstein case. This move comes as legislators intensify their efforts to make all documents concerning the deceased sex offender available to the public.

Bondi’s motion was filed at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She cited the recent enactment of the Epstein Files Transparency Act as grounds for the release of these confidential materials.

The motion argues, “In light of the Act’s explicit directive, the Court should permit the Department of Justice to disclose the grand jury transcripts and remove any existing protective orders that might impede public access.” It further assures that any sensitive details, such as victim names and other identifying information, will be redacted by the Justice Department.

President Trump had previously instructed Bondi in July to release the grand jury transcripts, following widespread public outcry over the administration’s initial reluctance to disclose documents related to Epstein.

On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated, “Considering the extreme public interest in Jeffrey Epstein, I have directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to make all relevant Grand Jury testimony available, pending Court approval.” Bondi confirmed her commitment to this directive with a post on X.

But the administration’s efforts to unseal grand jury transcripts hit a wall in federal court. Grand jury trial materials are normally kept sealed to protect the reputations of people under government investigation and to more easily obtain truthful testimony from witnesses. The Justice Department’s (DOJ) summer request for a New York federal court to unseal the jury’s transcripts due to “extensive public interest” was denied. 

Bondi’s motion for the transcripts’ release in a Florida federal court comes amid an abrupt pivot by the administration and GOP members of Congress supporting the release of files related to Epstein. Trump directed Republican Congress members to vote to release the Epstein files, a measure that passed 427-1 on the House floor before passing unanimously in the Senate. The president then signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on Wednesday.

Though Bondi said the DOJ had obtained “new information” Wednesday that caused investigators to reverse the decision to close the Epstein case — providing potential justification for continuing to withhold case documents — Republican senators warned her not to drag her feet. 

“You can adjust for whatever investigations are going on, but if you do a blanket hold, I think that they’re going to have a lot of people angry,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said.