Five million documents related to Epstein under review
The US Department of Justice has increased its review of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million.
The department is also increasing the number of attorneys trying to comply with the law requiring the release of files, according to a person with knowledge of a letter sent to U.S. Attorneys General.
That figure is the latest estimate in a widening review of the case files on Epstein and his longtime girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, more than a week after the deadline set by Congress into law.
The Justice Department has more than 400 lawyers assigned to review, but they do not expect to release more documents until Jan. 20 or 21, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the letter.
The White House did not dispute the numbers cited in the email and noted a statement from deputy attorney general Todd Blanche, who said the administration’s review was an “all-hands-on-deck approach.”
Blanche said lawyers were working “around the clock” to review the files.
“We are asking as many lawyers as possible to take the time to review the remaining documents,” Blanche said.
“It will take time to put in place the necessary regulations to protect victims, but this will not prevent the material from being published.”
Still, Attorney General Pam Bondi faces pressure from Congress after the Justice Department fell behind a Dec. 19 deadline to release the information.
“Should Attorney General Pam Bondi be fired?” Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican lawmaker who led efforts to pass legislation mandating the release of the document, asked the question on social media this week.
Democrats are weighing their legal options as they continue to tackle an issue that has sown rifts in the Republican Party and at times confounded President Donald Trump’s administration.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on social media that the latest Justice Department figures “show that Bondi, Blanche, and others at the Justice Department have been lying to the American people about the Epstein files since day one,” noting that the documents released so far represent a tiny fraction of the total.
Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who also led the effort to pass legislation requiring the release, told The Associated Press that the Justice Department’s expanded review shows the law is working.
“We are willing to give the DOJ a few more weeks to comply, provided they release to the FBI the survivors’ statements that include the names of other wealthy and powerful men who abused them or covered them up, as well as prosecutorial memos regarding the dropped charges against Epstein and his associates,” he said.
“Revealing all the information will shake the conscience of the nation.”
Massie also said he would like to see the victims’ statements to the FBI released.
These, he said, could reveal the names of influential businessmen and political donors who were involved or complicit in Epstein’s abuse.
The Trump administration has already struggled to get over the Epstein files through much of 2025.
While it’s unclear what else will be revealed in the filings, it’s almost certain that it will provide constant fodder for Democrats to continue addressing the issue.
So far, Democrats, despite being in the minority, have forced Congress to act on an issue that has caused divisions in Trump’s political base.
A portion of the document released just before Christmas shows Trump flying on Epstein’s private jet in the 1990s, at which time they formed a friendship before falling apart.
