A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand-jury transcripts from the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s pledge of broader disclosure. In a 31-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer wrote that releasing the materials would "reveal next to nothing new" about Epstein’s trafficking network and said the government’s motion appeared aimed at "diversion" rather than genuine transparency. The ruling follows weeks of scrutiny of the administration’s handling of Epstein-related records. Last month the FBI said its exhaustive review of 300 gigabytes of evidence uncovered no client list or grounds for additional charges. Engelmayer’s finding undercuts the White House’s argument that unsealing the Maxwell transcripts would satisfy public demands for information. Separately, the Bureau of Prisons has transferred Maxwell, 63, from low-security FCI Tallahassee to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas. Internal documents show officials waived a public-safety restriction for sex offenders, assigned her an “OUT” custody level and cleared her for off-site work release. The move occurred days after Maxwell met for two days with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump. Victims’ advocates and lawmakers, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, are demanding explanations for both the failed transparency bid and Maxwell’s upgraded confinement. They argue the combination of a judge’s rebuke and the inmate’s unexpectedly lenient conditions raises fresh questions about whether political influence is shaping the handling of the remaining "Epstein files."