Justice Department marshals 400 lawyers as 5.2 million Epstein pages remain, pushing release past congressional deadline
The Justice Department said it still must review 5.2 million pages tied to Jeffrey Epstein and is mobilizing 400 lawyers to help, signaling the final release of files will slip well past a Dec. 19 deadline mandated by Congress, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.
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The sweep of the task underscores the scale of the Epstein records and the political pressure surrounding them. The document said attorneys drawn from four Justice Department components—the Criminal Division, the National Security Division, the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan—will support the review effort through late January, a more precise and potentially larger staffing figure than earlier estimates.
Department leaders are offering telework options and time-off awards to attract volunteers. Lawyers who assist are expected to devote three to five hours per day and review about 1,000 documents daily, the document said. The department disclosed last week it had uncovered more than a million additional documents potentially linked to Epstein, further expanding the universe of material subject to review and redaction.
The Trump administration ordered the Justice Department to release the files in compliance with a transparency law passed by Congress last month. The statute requires the public release of all Epstein-related records, with redactions to protect victims. It also set Dec. 19 as the deadline for publication, but the department’s internal planning makes clear the volume of material will delay full disclosure.
So far, releases have been heavily redacted, frustrating some Republicans and doing little to quell a scandal that party strategists worry could linger into the 2026 midterm elections. The law cleared Congress with broad bipartisan support, despite months of resistance from President Donald Trump’s team to keep certain files under seal.
In a message posted on X last week, the department said, “We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible. Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”
Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender who moved in elite social circles, was acquainted with Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s. Trump has said their association ended in the mid-2000s and that he was not aware of Epstein’s abuse. Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. The Justice Department charged him with sex trafficking in 2019. He died later that year in a New York jail; his death was ruled a suicide.
The department’s rolling release plan—paired with an expanded review team and stepped-up incentives—suggests officials are trying to balance legal obligations for transparency with privacy protections for victims and ongoing investigative sensitivities. The inclusion of attorneys from the FBI and the Southern District of New York, which led the 2019 prosecution, indicates some of the files may touch on still-restricted investigative material.
While no updated timeline was offered for a comprehensive release, the internal schedule points to at least several more weeks of processing. As the department sifts through millions of pages for legally required redactions, the pace and scope of disclosures will remain a focal point on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers across parties have demanded clarity on what remains sealed and why.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
