A US federal judge in Florida ordered the Justice Department to release the grand jury transcripts in its investigation into the sex trafficking cases of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The order on Friday comes after US President Donald Trump signed a bill last month requiring all government records regarding Epstein to be made public.

Grand jury proceedings are usually kept confidential, and a previous appeal to reveal the transcripts had been turned down.

However, US District Judge Rodney Smith said Friday in a brief order that the Epstein Files Transparency Act mandates their release.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act calls for the release within 30 days of "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" in the possession of the Justice Department, the FBI and US attorneys' offices related to Epstein and Maxwell.

The Justice Department is also seeking the release of documents form Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case in New York as well as Maxwell's 2021 sex trafficking case, also in New York.

Epstein Files in the spotlight

The Epstein scandal has reentered the spotlight and posed a major challenge for Trump in recent months, partly due to his own role in amplifying Epstein conspiracy theories among his base ahead of his 2024 victory.

Trump, who had links with Epstein but says he had ended his friendship with him much before the financier's arrest in 2019, had opposed the release of the transcripts for months but reversed his stance shortly before the US Congress voted on the bill, after which he signed the bill on November 19.

More recently, Trump has changed his position and claimed the Epstein files are a Democratic fabrication designed to divert attention from his administration's achievements.

Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to a state charge of soliciting a minor for prostitution. The wealthy financier was arrested again in New York in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors.

Later that year, Epstein died while in pre-trial detention. His death was ruled to be a suicide

Edited by: Zac Crellin