Alan Dershowitz, former attorney for Jeffrey Epstein, insists that two New York courts—not the Trump administration—are responsible for withholding certain information related to Epstein’s case. In a NewsNation interview with Chris Cuomo, Dershowitz pushed back against claims that President Donald Trump or his Justice Department were hiding documents. He stressed that there is no “client list,” only redacted FBI affidavits from accusers, and said judicial orders prevent him from sharing more. According to Dershowitz, none of the unnamed individuals currently hold public office, though some did in the past, and some are deceased.
Dershowitz argued that the redactions in the affidavits could be undone only through court action, adding that two Manhattan judges imposed the restrictions largely to protect alleged victims. He emphasized that Trump, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the DOJ bear no responsibility for the withheld information. Most names tied to Epstein have already appeared in public records, books, or media reporting, he said, contending that the remaining undisclosed names are far fewer than people assume. Dershowitz reiterated that while he personally knows the identities behind the redactions, he is legally barred from revealing them.
This debate over secrecy intensified earlier in the week when a federal judge in Florida rejected the Trump administration’s request to release grand jury transcripts from Epstein’s original investigation. Judge Robin Rosenberg ruled that appellate precedent prohibits such disclosure. The administration had sought to unseal transcripts from 2005 and 2007 as part of a broader push for transparency surrounding Epstein’s network, but the effort failed—and a separate judge also denied a similar request from Ghislaine Maxwell.