A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that grand jury records from the sex trafficking case of Ghislaine Maxwell - partner of late financier Jeffrey Epstein - will remain sealed, writing that their release would not answer lingering questions about the case despite the Justice Department's portrayal of them as matters of significant public interest.

The Justice Department told two federal judges Friday it wants to release grand jury exhibits in the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, in addition to transcripts, with “appropriate redactions of victim-related and other personal identifying information.

Transcripts of the secret grand jury testimony that led to the sex trafficking indictment of Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell won’t be released, a judge decided Monday. Judge Paul A.