The US Justice Department is engaged in a colossal review of more than five million pages of documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an undertaking so vast it is diverting critical resources from other national security and criminal cases.
Scale of the Epstein Document Review Expands Dramatically
This figure, reported by the New York Times, marks a significant escalation from earlier estimates. Initial calculations were based on roughly 300 gigabytes of data from FBI archives, encompassing papers, videos, photographs, and audio files from investigations in both Florida and New York.
To manage this immense volume, the department is seeking to enlist approximately 400 lawyers to assist in the process. Officials confirmed that prosecutors from the national security and criminal divisions, as well as from US attorneys' offices in New York and Florida, are being pulled into the effort.
Missed Deadlines and Round-the-Clock Work
The review is now expected to continue until at least 20 January, blowing past the congressionally mandated release deadline of 19 December. Last week, federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI informed the Justice Department they had uncovered over a million additional documents, necessitating further delay.
In a statement on X on Christmas Eve, the department acknowledged the holdup, stating lawyers were "working around the clock" to review and make legally required redactions to protect victims. It attributed the delay to the "mass volume of material" and pledged full compliance with federal law.
The department has called in additional lawyers to work over the Christmas break, supplementing a team of 200 analysts from the national security division already assigned to the task.
Revelations and Challenges in the Released Files
Documents released so far have contained significant revelations, including evidence that the FBI was alerted to Epstein's activities involving minors a decade earlier than previously known. The process has also been marred by false material, such as a fabricated letter from Epstein to former gymnastics coach Larry Nassar and a fake video of Epstein's death.
An image showing a desk drawer containing photos, including one of Donald Trump, was temporarily removed from the department's disclosure website over concerns about exposing victims, before being restored.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche addressed the confusion, stating on X: "There has been lots of sensationalism and even outright lies... Document production is just that. We produce documents, and sometimes this can result in releasing fake or false documents because they simply are in our possession because the law requires this."
The sprawling review underscores the unprecedented scale of the Epstein case and the ongoing legal and administrative challenges in fulfilling transparency demands while safeguarding victims and the integrity of the process.
