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By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
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The Justice Department has expanded its review of documents tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million records and added hundreds of attorneys to meet a law requiring their release, a person briefed on a letter sent to U.S. attorneys told the Associated Press.
The figure marks the latest estimate in a review of case files on Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell that is now more than a week past a congressional deadline.
More than 400 department lawyers are working on the review, but the person told AP no additional documents are expected to be released until January 20 or 21. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the letter.
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The White House did not dispute the figures and pointed to a statement from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who called the effort an “all-hands-on-deck approach.”
In a post on X, Blanche said officials were working through the holidays to "review documents in compliance with federal law."
The update came after an announcement last week that over 1 million new files were being examined.
Why It Matters
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has been criticized for not releasing all files related to Epstein, as required by a law passed by Congress last month that set a December 19 deadline. Trump administration officials have said that the delay is due to the large volume of files and the need to maintain anonymity and safety for Epstein's victims.
The growing scope of the disclosure and the surge in legal resources underscore how the Epstein investigation continues to command attention in Congress and the White House.
What To Know
Blanche said that redactions to protect victims take time, but this would not stop the documents from being released. Those redactions have caused controversy, however, with several pages of documents released in the past few weeks blanked out, causing some to question the level of transparency.
Trump administration officials have insisted they are complying with the law passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, but the pace has been too slow for those who brought the legislation in the first place. Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, and Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, have been the leading lawmakers keeping up the pressure.
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Files which have been released have included letters, photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents related to investigations into the late financier, who was accused of running a widespread sex trafficking operation involving young women and girls for a number of years across Florida, New York, and the Caribbean.
On December 23, the DOJ published another 30,000 pages of documents, photographs and other material related to Epstein. They included hundreds of references to Trump, and two subpoenas to the president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
The following day, a group of senators called on the DOJ to examine its failure to meet the original December 19 deadline to release the files. The group, made up of 11 Democrats and one Republican, wrote to Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume, saying victims deserved full disclosure.
Bondi has said that the DOJ is committed to bringing charges against any other individuals connected to Epstein's trafficking scheme, and has called for victims to come forward if they have not already.
What People Are Saying
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, on X: "It truly is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we're asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain. Required redactions to protect victims take time but they will not stop these materials from being released. The Attorney General’s and this Administration’s goal is simple: transparency and protecting victims."
Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, on X December 28: "@AGPamBondi’s most egregious violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act is not that she ignores the deadline… it’s that she’s redacting names of accused sex offenders AND internal communications about decisions, wrongly citing old rules that are overridden by new law."
California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, on CNN Tuesday: "I'm less concerned about the timeline and more concerned that they're not releasing the key documents. If they were actually putting out the survivors' statements, putting out the prosecution memos, then they would have some leg to rest on."
What Happens Next
Massie has called for Bondi to be impeached over the delays, accusing her and other officials of redacting the names of accused sex offenders. Khanna said other measures could also be used to compel the DOJ to comply, despite the Trump administration insisting it plans to release the files.
Update 12/31/25, 2:01 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 12/31/25, 3:14 p.m. ET: This headline and article was updated with additional information.
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