DOJ finds million more potential Epstein documents to review before release

The Justice Department said Wednesday that it may have more than 1 million additional documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein that it needs to review and that the process could take weeks.

The DOJ said two of its components, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, had just turned over the missing tranche of records, days after the Epstein Files Transparency Act deadline expired.

“We have attorneys working around the clock to review and make legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the DOJ wrote in a statement on social media.

EPSTEIN FILE FILING INCLUDES “FALSE, SENSATIONALIST CLAIMS” ABOUT TRUMP, DOJ SAYS

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Donald Trump on recent Supreme Court decisions in the White House Briefing Room on June 27, 2025. (Getty Images)

Reviewing the “massive volume of documents” could “take a few additional weeks,” the DOJ said.

“The Department will continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump’s instructions to release the records,” the department wrote.

The DOJ has been sharing tens of thousands of pages of files related to the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking cases on a public website since Friday as part of its obligation under the transparency bill.

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in federal custody in 2019. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, file)

President Donald Trump signed the bill on November 19, giving the DOJ 30 days to review and release all unclassified documents related to these cases.

The filing’s rollout has sparked controversy, with critics blasting the DOJ for what they see as excessive redactions and the law’s deadline passing Friday. Initially, the DOJ said it would miss the deadline by a few weeks, but Wednesday’s announcement suggests that could extend further into the new year than the administration had anticipated.

SCHUMER ACCUSES DOJ OF VIOLATION OF LAW OVER REDACTED EPSTEIN FILES

Todd Blanche, then nominee for deputy attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, on February 12. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday on “Meet the Press” that there was “settled law” that supported the Justice Department in not meeting the bill’s deadline because of the need to meet other legal requirements, such as removing victims’ identifying information.

The transparency bill required the DOJ to withhold victim information and documents that could compromise open investigations or litigation. Officials could also omit information “in the interest of national defense or foreign policy,” the bill says.

The bill also explicitly ordered the DOJ to keep visible any details that could harm high-profile and politically connected individuals.