DOJ reviewing 5.2 million pages
The Justice Department has 5.2 million pages of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents to review, multiple sources have reported, and the effort will take weeks longer to complete.
Approximately 400 lawyers from various government departments are assigned to review these records. New York Times was first reported late Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The review of the staggering number of files will take until at least January 20 to complete, the Times reported. A government document declared by Reuters The process of reviewing the remaining records will take place between Jan. 5 and Jan. 23, he said Wednesday morning.
The updated timeline is expected to draw more criticism from lawmakers, who accuse the Trump administration of violating a legal deadline to release its files on late sex offender Epstein.
While it’s unclear how many records in total will be released, the latest reported figure is much larger than previously stated and appears to further refute a July memo that claimed the Justice Department was conducting a “comprehensive review” of its files on Epstein.
When asked for their comments, both the White House and the Department of Justice referred CNBC to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s X post; He said attorneys “worked around the clock throughout holidays, including Christmas and New Year’s, to review documents in accordance with federal law.”
“This is truly an all-hands-on-deck approach and we are asking as many attorneys as possible to take the time to review the remaining documents,” Blanche wrote. he wrote, adding: “The corrections needed to protect victims will take time, but they will not prevent these materials from being published.”
President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill in mid-November requiring the government to publicly release declassified records from its investigations into Epstein by Dec. 19.
The DOJ released thousands of records at the time, but Blanche stated that more would be distributed in the “next few weeks.”
“I expect a few hundred thousand more,” Blanche said at the time.
on Christmas Eve, DOJ announced He said more than a million additional documents potentially related to Epstein had been “uncovered” and that it would take “several more weeks” for them to be released.
The 400 additional lawyers were provided by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the National Security Agency, as well as the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, the document cited by Reuters on Wednesday said.
The FBI declined to comment. Other divisions and the Manhattan office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s call for help.
Lawyers will be expected to review up to 1,000 documents per day in three to five hours, and volunteers will be offered incentives including leave awards and remote work options, the document said.
After releasing the first set of dossiers, the Justice Department quickly leveled accusations that it had failed to create the required dossiers and redacted more information than was legally required.
The department stated that “no politicians’ names were changed” and that it fully complied with federal law. Democrats nevertheless signaled they would pursue legal action against the administration over the alleged violations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) accused the administration of “covering up to protect Donald Trump,” a former friend of Epstein’s who frequently complained about the public’s focus on the dossiers.
