The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported on Monday that it is continuing to review more than two million documents related to the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, one of the most controversial scandals in the country in recent decades.
The agency acknowledged that it had failed to meet the legal deadline set by the so-called Epstein Archives Transparency Act, which required the full release of the documents by December 19.
The release of the Jeffrey Epstein files is progressing slowly
According to a letter sent to a federal judge, the Department of Justice indicated that the remaining documents are in “various stages of review,” which has delayed their full disclosure.
To date, the U.S. government has released 12,285 documents, totaling more than 125,000 pages, although these represent less than one percent of the total files currently under review.
More than one million additional files from the Epstein case have been detected
The Department of Justice also revealed that on December 24, more than one million additional files were identified that were not included in the initial review of the Epstein case.
Although some of these documents may be duplicates, they will need to undergo a classification, processing, and deduplication process, which increases the time required for their analysis.
«Substantial work remains to be done», notes the letter signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior DOJ officials.
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More than 400 lawyers and FBI agents are reviewing the files
To speed up the process, the Department of Justice announced that more than 400 lawyers will work over the next few weeks to review the documents.
Additionally, at least 100 FBI employes specializing in handling victims’ sensitive information collaborate in evaluating the material before it is published.
The authorities emphasized that the review must be carried out manually to identify and protect the personal data of the victims involved in the case.
Criticism of Donald Trump for delaying the Epstein files
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, faces strong criticism from the Democratic Party for the delay in the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
However, the Trump administration has defended its actions, arguing that the priority is to protect the identity and sensitive information of sex trafficking victims.
Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier, died in 2019 in a New York jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors, in a case that continues to generate controversy worldwide.
