The U.S. Justice Department has revealed a staggering backlog in its transparency efforts, disclosing that 5.2 million Epstein files remain under review. According to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, the department needs to deploy 400 lawyers from four different offices to process the massive trove of records through late January.
Consequently, this logistical hurdle will likely extend the final release of the documents to much later than expected, pushing the timeline well past the December 19 deadline originally set by Congress.
The Scale of the Review
To handle the workload, department leaders are mobilizing a massive legal workforce. Collectively, the Criminal Division, the National Security Division, the FBI, and the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan are providing 400 attorneys to assist with the review. This figure is significantly more precise—and potentially much larger—than the department’s previous estimates.
Specifically, the review period will run from January 5 to January 23. The document outlines strict expectations for the volunteers: lawyers who assist must devote three to five hours a day to the task, with a target of reviewing about 1,000 documents daily. In exchange, department leaders are offering telework options and time-off awards as incentives for the grueling work.
Missed Deadlines and New Discoveries
The delay follows a revelation from the DOJ last week that it had uncovered more than a million additional documents potentially linked to Jeffrey Epstein. So far, the disclosures have been heavily redacted, a fact that has frustrated some Republicans and done little to quell a scandal that threatens the party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The Trump administration officially ordered the Justice Department to release the files in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law passed by Congress last month with broad bipartisan support. However, the statute required all documents to be released by December 19, with redactions limited only to protecting victims.+1
Political Tensions and History
Despite the current order to comply, the source text notes a conflict: the law mandates transparency “despite Trump’s months-long effort to keep them sealed.” Trump, who knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s, has stated that their association ended in the mid-2000s and that he was unaware of the financier’s sexual abuse.
Nevertheless, the sheer volume of 5.2 million pages suggests the saga is far from over. In a message shared on X last week, the Justice Department pleaded for patience: “We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims… Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”
