Trump’s call to release Epstein transcripts panned as “desperate move”
President Donald Trump s call for the release of grand jury transcripts from the Jeffrey Epstein probe is already facing sharp criticism from legal experts who argue the move is hollow and politically calculated On Thursday night following a Wall Street Journal statement about a birthday note allegedly sent from Trump to Epstein in the president who has threatened to sue the newspaper and its owner Rupert Murdoch claiming the note is fake posted on Truth Social that he had directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony from the Epstein scenario subject to court approval Bondi hastily agreed saying she would move the court to unseal the transcripts Related Trump fires Epstein prosecutor Maurene Comey which sure looks desperate But legal experts straightaway characterized the move as a stunt They need a judge s permission a judge could easily say no former U S Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce Vance pointed out on X That s apparently the point Trump can say yet again that he tried the courts stood in his way Critics also emphasized that grand jury transcripts represent only a tiny fraction of the investigative record Elie Honig a former assistant U S attorney explained that the entirety of the Epstein files reportedly amounts to about gigabytes of material grand jury testimony would cover just a sliver And what Trump explained to do there is not to turn over all the Epstein files It is a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of those files Honig declared on CNN noting that most of spectators don t even go into the grand jury They just talk to you in a conference room not in the grand jury So we re talking about a Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Discipline Kristy Greenberg former deputy chief of the criminal division for the Southern District of New York added that the transcripts were unlikely to implicate Trump at all Trump knows SDNY prosecutors seeking to indict Epstein and Maxwell didn t ask questions about him in their grand jury presentations while he was POTUS she wrote It s a red herring to distract from the evidence that matters witness interview notes videos photos etc Heath Mayo a conservative attorney and Trump critic argued that the move was a signal that the president wants buried information to stay buried writing Anybody who knows anything knows that the Grand Jury testimony won t show even a fraction of the evidence that was obtained This is a desperate defensive move These guys are already on tilt Democratic lawmakers have echoed these concerns questioning the motives and scope of Trump s request Rep Dan Goldman D-N Y wrote on X Nice try AGPamBondi What about videos photographs and other recordings What about FBI s witness interviews What about texts and emails That s where the evidence about Trump and others will be Grand jury testimony will only relate to Epstein and Maxwell Read more about Trump and Epstein Haunted by Epstein Trump spirals further out of control Sen Wyden presses DOJ to release Epstein bank reports to Congress Why House Republicans voted for the Epstein cover-up The post Trump s call to release Epstein transcripts panned as desperate move appeared first on Salon com
