Grand jury transcripts are rarely released by courts, unless they need to be disclosed in connection with a judicial proceeding. The papers filed Tuesday cite a 1997 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said judges have wide discretion and public interest alone can justify releasing grand jury information.

Donald Trump's administration urged two judges on Tuesday night to release testimony heard by the grand juries that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges as the president seeks to calm an uproar over his administration's handling of the matter.

President Donald Trump said he would provide a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates – and did not rule out pardoning the late sex offender’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump made the shocking remark as the Justice Department interviews Maxwell for a second day in Tallahassee,