President Trump on Thursday directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to ask a federal judge to release transcripts of grand jury testimony related to the 2019 indictment of Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking. On social media, he said that “any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony” relating to Mr. Epstein should be released, “subject to Court approval.” On Friday, Ms. Bondi followed through. In court filings, she asked federal judges to unseal grand jury transcripts from Mr. Epstein’s case, and the prosecution of his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell as well.

The request falls short of demands by Mr. Trump’s critics to release all of the government’s files on Mr. Epstein, who died in federal custody while awaiting trial.

Generally, grand jury evidence is narrowly tailored by prosecutors to fit the criminal charges they want to file. So even if judges agree to unseal the grand jury testimony, it is unlikely to offer anything approaching an exhaustive accounting of what F.B.I. agents and prosecutors learned about Mr. Epstein’s activities. And the requests by the Justice Department to release the material will now most likely be only the beginning of a complicated process of review, redaction and potential release of testimony. Here’s how it might work.

What is a grand jury?

Grand juries are groups of citizens who hear evidence from prosecutors and witnesses in secret, and then decide whether to formally indict a person under investigation. Grand juries are used in both state and federal courts; they are typically convened to gather and weigh evidence before charges are filed in most felony cases.

Compared with a trial, the grand jury process is friendlier to prosecutors, as jurors do not hear from lawyers representing the accused. And the standard for indicting people for a criminal offense is lower than the one for finding them guilty at trial.

Why is grand jury material sealed?

Grand juries are intended to be a screening mechanism, one that serves as a check on prosecutors to make sure that the government has a solid case before it brings criminal charges against someone in open court. Their proceedings are kept secret to protect the reputations of the people under government investigation who may turn out to be innocent or who are never charged with a crime. Secrecy also makes it easier to obtain full and truthful testimony from witnesses.