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The Justice Department says releasing all Jeffrey Epstein files will take a few more weeks after discovering over a million additional documents, missing a December 19 congressional deadline.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. (AP Photo)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Dec 25, 2025 02:32 IST
The US Justice Department said on Wednesday that completing the release of all files related to Jeffrey Epstein will take a few more weeks, pushing the process past a December 19 deadline set by Congress.
In a statement, the US Justice Department said prosecutors and investigators recently uncovered more than one million additional documents that could be relevant to the Epstein case. The materials were identified by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks,” the Justice Department said, adding that it would release the documents “as soon as possible.”
The disclosure means the department will miss the deadline mandated under a law passed nearly unanimously by United States Congress last month, which ordered the public release of Epstein-related records with legally required redactions.
DOJ officials stressed that the delay is driven by the scale of the review, not a lack of effort. Lawyers are working around the clock to examine the newly identified files and ensure that sensitive information is properly redacted before release, the department said.
The Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Department’s watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline. The group, 11 Democrats and a Republican, told Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume in a letter that victims “deserve full disclosure” and the “peace of mind” of an independent audit, according to the Associated Press.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, a co-sponsor of the transparency act, posted Wednesday on X: “DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline.”
After releasing an initial tranche of records on Friday, the Justice Department posted additional batches over the weekend and again on Tuesday. The department has not said when, or if, more disclosures are expected.
Most of the material made public so far — including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs and court filings — was either already in the public domain or heavily redacted, often stripped of meaningful context.
Among the previously unseen documents were grand jury transcripts in which FBI agents described interviews with girls and young women who said they were paid to perform sex acts for Epstein.
Other records released in recent days include a January 2020 note from a federal prosecutor stating that Donald Trump had flown on Epstein’s private plane more frequently than previously known.
The files also contain emails between Ghislaine Maxwell and an individual signing off as “A,” with references suggesting the writer was Britain’s former Prince Andrew. In one message, “A” wrote: “How’s LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”
The Epstein case has remained a flashpoint years after the disgraced financier’s death in federal custody, with lawmakers and the public pressing for greater transparency about who may be named in investigative records and how authorities handled the case.
- Ends
With inputs from Associated Press
Published By:
Aashish Vashistha
Published On:
Dec 25, 2025
