The Second Circuit in 1997 laid out a nine-factor test for judges to consider whether public interest outweighed rules of grand jury secrecy. In this case, observers opine it could come down to opposition from the surviving parties.

The records are at the center of President Trump’s effort to manage fallout from the Epstein case. But unsealing them is complex and requires a judge to sign off.

Instead, the longtime Harvard professor lobbied for Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell to be granted immunity in exchange for testifying in front of a congressional committee.