DeSantis to sign Epstein grand jury bill
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he will sign a bill clearing the way for the release of grand jury testimony about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Epstein, a wealthy Palm Beach resident, was investigated by Palm Beach County authorities in 2006 for allegedly sexually abusing young girls at his mansion, leading to a grand jury investigation. Through a deal approved by prosecutors in 2007, Epstein sidestepped federal charges and agreed to plead guilty to two state prostitution charges, including procuring a minor for sex.
The House and Senate this month unanimously approved the bill (HB 117), sponsored by Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach, and Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton. It would expand an exception to a prohibition on the disclosure of testimony or evidence received by a grand jury.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal sex-trafficking offenses involving minor girls, and he was found dead in a New York jail in what was deemed a suicide. The Palm Beach Post filed a lawsuit in 2019 in an effort to obtain a court order to unseal the 2006 grand jury records.
