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The Justice Department said it is still reviewing 5.2 million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and has enlisted about 400 attorneys from multiple divisions to complete the process by late January, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
The update suggests the long-awaited public release of the Epstein files will likely extend long beyond the Dec. 19 deadline set by Congress.
In a message posted on X last week, the Justice 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.”
The Trump administration ordered the Justice Department to make public the files connected to criminal investigations involving Epstein, the late convicted sex offender. The order followed the passage of a new transparency law last month that required the release of all Epstein-related materials.
According to the internal document, the review is being handled by lawyers from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, National Security Division, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. The document said the review period would run from Jan. 5 through Jan. 23.
Department leaders are offering incentives, including telework flexibility and time-off awards, to those who volunteer. Participating attorneys are expected to spend three to five hours per day reviewing roughly 1,000 documents daily, the document said.
Last week, the department disclosed it had identified more than a million additional records that may be connected to Epstein. So far, the partial disclosures have been heavily redacted, frustrating some lawmakers and leaving questions about the case unresolved ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The transparency law, passed with broad bipartisan support, requires complete publication of Epstein-related materials with only limited redactions to protect victims.
Epstein was convicted in Florida in 2008 of procuring a minor for prostitution and later faced federal sex trafficking charges in 2019. He was found dead in his New York jail cell that same year, and his death was ruled a suicide.