US justice department asks to unseal grand jury transcripts in Epstein case

Move seeks to contain controversy that has engulfed Trump administration since it announced it would not release more files from sex trafficking case

The US Department of Justice asked a federal court on Friday to unseal grand jury transcripts in Jeffrey Epstein's case at the direction of Donald Trump amid a firestorm over the administration's handling of records related to the wealthy financier.

The move - coming a day after a Wall Street Journal story put a spotlight on Trump's relationship with Epstein - seeks to contain a growing controversy that has engulfed the administration since it announced that it would not be releasing more government files from Epstein's sex trafficking case.