A United States federal judge has denied a Department of Justice bid to unseal grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking case, stating the government already has plenty of material related to Epstein that it could release if it chose to do so.

The ruling issued by New York Judge Richard Berman on Wednesday follows a similar decision from a judge overseeing the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the deceased sex offender’s former girlfriend and a central figure in his web of abuse.

Berman said in his decision that the information available in the grand jury transcripts “pales in comparison to the Epstein investigative information and materials in the hands of the Department of Justice”.

The administration of President Donald Trump has continued to face sharp scrutiny over its handling of information and material related to the disgraced financier and child sex abuser, with whom Trump previously had a long and close relationship.

The New York judge said on Wednesday that no victims testified during the Epstein grand jury, and that the only witness called was a federal law enforcement agent with no “direct knowledge of the facts of the case”. The case included a PowerPoint presentation and a phone log, which Berman said would also remain sealed.

While several current members of the Trump administration leaned heavily into Epstein-related conspiracies and said they would release all available information before they entered the White House, Trump has reacted testily to questions about the government’s reluctance to do so.

Criticism ramped up after the Justice Department said last month that it would not release further information on Epstein and that it had no further details about an alleged “Epstein files” of the sex offender’s clients and associates. Several US news outlets reported that Trump was briefed by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared on the list.

Some anger has come from Trump’s own base of supporters, for whom speculation about Epstein’s death by suicide in prison and his influence with powerful political and economic figures has been an object of fascination for years.