The US Justice Department revealed it has 5.2 million pages of Epstein files left to review. It needs 400 lawyers from four different department offices. Their help is required through late January. This is according to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
This will probably delay the final release of the documents. The release will be much later than expected. This happens after a December 19 deadline set by Congress, the document said.
The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The Trump administration ordered the Justice Department to release the files tied to criminal probes of Jeffrey Epstein. He was the late financier and a convicted sex offender. Epstein was friends with US President Donald Trump in the 1990s. This order was made in compliance with a transparency law passed by Congress last month.
The Criminal Division, the National Security Division, the FBI, and the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan are working together. They are collectively providing 400 attorneys to review the files. The document stated this number is more precise. It is potentially much larger than previous estimates from the department.
The review will occur between January 5-23, the document added.
Department leaders are offering telework options and time off awards as incentives for volunteers. The document mentioned this. It added that lawyers who assist will be expected to devote three to five hours a day. They will review about 1,000 documents a day.
The DOJ said last week it had uncovered more than a million additional documents potentially linked to Epstein.
So far, the disclosures have been heavily redacted. This has frustrated some Republicans. It has also done little to quell a scandal that threatens the party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The law received broad bipartisan support in Congress. It requires all Epstein-related files to be made public. This is despite Trump’s months-long effort to keep them sealed. Under the statute, all documents were to be released by December 19, with redactions to protect victims.
Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. He has said their association ended in the mid-2000s and that he was never aware of the financier’s sexual abuse.
Epstein was convicted in Florida in 2008 of procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution. The Justice Department charged him with sex trafficking in 2019. Epstein was found dead in 2019 in a New York jail and his death was ruled a suicide.
In a message shared on X last week, the Justice Department said, “We have lawyers working around the clock. They are reviewing documents.” They are making the legally required redactions to protect victims. We will release the documents as soon as possible. Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”
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