The DOJ is working through the holidays to review the Epstein files for public release
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Officials at the Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday that they are working around the clock over the holidays to review and redact the documents in Epstein’s files, before they are made public.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement to X noting Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys from the Chief Justice, FBI, SDFL and SDNY “worked around the clock” over Christmas and New Year’s to review the documents, ensuring sensitive victim information is redacted from the upcoming release.
“It is definitely a hands-on approach and we are asking as many attorneys as possible to volunteer their time to review the remaining documents,” Blanche wrote in the post. “The reforms needed to protect victims take time but will not stop these items from being released.”
Blanche’s update comes amid the latest threats of legal action after the department missed a Dec. 19 Epstein Files Transparency Act deadline to release all of its documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The Justice Department released dozens of Epstein documents on Dec. 19 following President Trump’s signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
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He previously pointed out that there is “fine-tuned legislation” to support the missed deadline, as other legal requirements in the bill must be met before release, including redaction of victim-identifying information.
“The goal of the Attorney General and this Administration is simple: transparency and victim protection,” Blanche wrote Wednesday.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed Nov. 19 by President Donald Trump, requires the DOJ to withhold information that could identify potential victims or jeopardize ongoing investigations or prosecutions.
Computer view of Epstein Island in the US Virgin Islands. (House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)
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It also allowed officials to exclude material deemed sensitive to national defense or foreign policy.
While it’s unclear how many files still need to be reviewed, the DOJ last week confirmed the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York recently sent over 1 million additional pages of potentially responsive documents related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases.
Former president Bill Clinton was seen in photos with Jeffrey Epstein as part of the release of the DOJ Epstein files on Friday, December 19. (Department of Justice)
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Officials said the “massive volume” of material could take weeks to be examined, delaying its release, which Blanche had promised “progressively,” Fox News Digital previously reported.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
