A US judge on Wednesday denied a justice department bid to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in south Florida.

The move is the first ruling in a series of attempts to release more information on the case by Donald Trump’s administration, which is mired in a scandal over the US president’s previous links to Epstein that has rocked his Maga base.

The request stemmed from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007, according to court documents.

The justice department has pending requests to unseal transcripts in Manhattan federal court related to a later indictment brought against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

US district judge Robin Rosenberg found that the department’s request in Florida did not fall into any of the exceptions to rules requiring grand jury material be kept secret.

Rosenberg wrote that the court’s “hands are tied” and said the government had not requested the grand jury’s findings for use in a judicial proceeding, pointing out that district courts in the US are largely prohibited from unsealing grand jury testimony except in very narrow circumstances.

More details soon …