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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 809 _ Filed 08/11/25 Page 24 of 31
2. Whether the Defendant to the Grand Jury Proceedings or the
Government Opposes Disclosure
Maxwell opposes disclosure because, among other reasons, her case remains on direct
appeal. Dkt. 803 at 2 (“Because this is ongoing litigation in a criminal case involving a living
defendant with existing legal remedies, the government’s motion should be denied.”’)
This factor thus weighs against unsealing. The Court, however, assigns limited weight to
this factor because Maxwell, who does not have a legal right to access the grand jury materials,
has not seen it. Her opposition is therefore fairly viewed as precautionary. Had Maxwell been
aware that the grand jury materials are duplicative of information in the public record, her
position might have been different.
3. Why Disclosure Is Being Sought in the Particular Case
This factor addresses the present-day significance of the grand jury materials at issue and
whether their disclosure would advance the public interest. This factor so decisively weighs
against unsealing that it alone would require denying the Government’s motion.
Arguments to disclose grand jury testimony on account of historical or public interest are
“totally appropriate” and sometimes may even be weighty. Jn re Craig, 131 F.3d at 106. But for
the reasons reviewed above, the grand jury materials here are neither of historical nor public-
interest importance. This evidence was put before the grand juries in June 2020 and March
2021, in a case that remains on direct appeal. Cf In re National Security Archive, 104 F. Supp.
3d at 628-29 (1950 grand jury testimony regarding Julius and Ethel Rosenberg); Jn re AHA, 49
F. Supp. at 278, 297-98 (1947-1950 grand jury testimony regarding Alger Hiss). And it is not
of present-day public importance because it consists of summary testimony by law enforcement
agents recounting information that today is a matter of public record, on account of the month-
long trial on the charges returned by the grand jury. Cf In re Biaggi, 478 F.2d at 494 (grand jury
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Dates
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00015156.jpg |
| File Size | 728.9 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.5% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,125 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 18:53:26.266074 |