Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday detailed details of a new bill that would release Jeffrey Epstein's grand jury documents, saying Epstein's business partner Ghislaine Maxwell cannot be the only one responsible. insisted.
Mr. DeSantis appeared on “Hannity” to discuss signing a bill that would allow the release of documents from the 2006 grand jury investigation into Mr. Epstein. Fox host Sean Hannity praised the Florida governor's decision and pointed out the secrecy behind Epstein's plea deal with the federal government. (Related: DeSantis to approve release of Epstein grand jury documents)
DeSantis said various people had asked for the documents to be released, but “grand jury secrecy laws” prevented them from being released. Florida's governor continued to point out that the release of upcoming documents will allow Epstein's victims to receive the justice they “never got.”
“Something unbelievable happened. You know, this involved federal jurisdiction at the time, and the federal government was working with Palm Beach County prosecutors to engineer this plea deal. This is… This happened 15 or 20 years ago. When I became governor, we started a criminal investigation into what happened. How did he close this sweetheart deal? ? But what we encountered was a grand jury secrecy law, which is also true in Florida. If you testify in secret in front of a grand jury, it has to be kept secret. Then some People have tried to petition for their release, with the exception of several people, but all of those lawsuits have failed. So the Florida Legislature passed a bill this week that would allow the release of all these grand jury files. signed into law [and] The law will go into effect on July 1st. The public will finally have answers,” DeSantis said.
“But we had some. They're women now, they're in their 30s, but they were teenagers, and I think a lot of them were 14 at the time. This has been going on for decades. It's been following them for a long time, and they haven't received any justice. We're going to get more facts. What do you think, Sean, with so many people involved, and now… There is only one person, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is in federal prison. Since Epstein's death, no one has been held accountable. We know that it is not right and that there must be others involved in this criminal activity. I think everyone knows there isn’t.”
The bill, introduced by Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky of Boca Raton, passed the Senate in a unanimous 37-0 vote on February 21. DeSantis said he has expressed support for the bill. online “All files related to Jeffrey Epstein's criminal activities should be made public.”
Following a 2006 criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in Florida, Epstein was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls and sentenced to one year in prison. During the investigation, only one of Epstein's accusers came forward to testify before a grand jury, raising concerns about the fairness of the case.
Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking in 2019. He was found dead in his cell at the New York Metropolitan Correctional Center a month after his arrest.
Since Epstein's death, his longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell is the only person to be charged and sentenced in connection with Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Maxwell was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2022 for his involvement in Epstein's crimes.
Redactions and other restrictions may still be in effect, but the release of grand jury documents is a major move toward transparency.
