Appeals court opens way to judge's review of Epstein grand jury transcripts
An appeals court has reversed a judge’s decision that blocked The Palm Beach Post’s access to records of 2006 proceedings leading a grand jury to charge financier Jeffrey Epstein with just a single charge of soliciting a prostitute.
The decision released Wednesday, by the 4th District Court of Appeals, clears the way for a trial court judge to review the transcripts and determine if their release will further justice.
Attorneys for The Palm Beach Post argued in February that justice for the girls that police accused Epstein of victimizing 17 years ago demands the release of the records.
The outcome of the proceedings made it possible for the politically connected Palm Beacher, who police had accused of victimizing a series of young teenagers, to continue to molest and traffic girls for 13 more years, noted Nina Boyajian, representing the Post before the appeal court’s three-judge panel Feb. 28. Learning how the grand jury reached its decision is essential to knowing whether justice was sabotaged by prosecutors, she said.
A Palm Beach Post investigation found that out of multiple teenage girls who told police that they were recruited and paid to come to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion where he sexually abused them, then-State Attorney Barry Krischer’s office called only one to testify before the grand jury, and undermined her testimony, displaying social media posts about boys and drinking.
Palm Beach Post investigation: Jeffrey Epstein Case - The First Failure
More: Did Jeffrey Epstein prosecutors sabotage justice? Post appeal: Records the only way to know
More: Why was Jeffrey Epstein in 2006 charged only with picking up a prostitute? Where we stand
More: Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach home: What the victims saw and described to police
The office of the Palm Beach County Clerk of Court, which argued on procedural grounds against releasing the transcripts, could ask the Florida Supreme Court to review questions of the court’s authority over the grand jury transcripts and the conditions under which they may be released.
But on Wednesday, county Clerk of Courts & Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo's office released a statement that said: "Our office will not appeal this ruling and looks forward to further direction from the court."
The statement reiterated what Abruzzo has said before that he would “leave no stone unturned” and wanted "these records released for full transparency to the public."
Abruzzo has also pushed legislation that would allow the release of the grand jury documents to the public but would still require a judge’s order.
“Though the court did not require the circuit court to release the grand jury transcripts, it clearly indicated that the Post had provided substantial evidence to justify release,” attorney Steve Mendelsohn, who represented the newspaper in trial court proceedings, said Wednesday. “And it referred to a prior circuit court decision in this case that release may be socially beneficial.”
In reaching its decision, the appeals court rejected the argument against release presented by Clerk’s Office attorneys, noting the office had not raised the argument at the initiation of the case.
“We are pleased that the court recognized that the argument previously advanced against the Post had no merit,” Boyajian said Wednesday. “We look forward to the court’s order in the furtherance of justice.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Appeals court ruling means Jeffrey Epstein records could go public
