A U.S. federal judge has authorized the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release judicial files and grand jury transcripts related to Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida case, following new bipartisan legislation that requires wider public disclosure.

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The decision, issued on Friday, allows the DOJ to make public records from Epstein’s 2005–2007 case in Palm Beach, where authorities investigated allegations that the financier sexually abused and exploited minors at his residence. The judge ruled that a law passed by Congress on November 18 supersedes the earlier order keeping the documents sealed, effectively opening the way for public access.

The legislation, signed by the U.S. president, sets a 30-day deadline for the DOJ to disclose all non-classified materials linked to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Officials have not yet clarified which documents will be released or when, though the files were previously accessible to New York prosecutors during the 2019 sex-trafficking investigation.

Pressure to declassify all Epstein-related records has intensified, especially after Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives released previously unseen photographs and video from the financier’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The material shows the interior of the property used as a center of abuse.

Representative Robert Garcia, a senior member of the House Oversight Committee, said the move aims to support public transparency. “We released these photos and videos to help piece together the larger picture of Epstein’s horrific crimes,” he stated.

The judge’s ruling follows renewed efforts by U.S. authorities to unseal grand jury testimony from the Florida case, after a similar request was denied earlier this year. Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, while Maxwell is currently serving her sentence.

With the new mandate in place, federal agencies must now release remaining records tied to Epstein’s activities, marking a significant shift in public access to a case that continues to shape debates over accountability and institutional oversight.

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