Justice Department expects to release its Epstein files soon, top officials say
By Rashard Rose, CNN
(CNN) — Top Justice Department leaders said in a court filing Tuesday they expect to release the department’s Jeffrey Epstein-related files “in the near term.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton told two federal judges the department could not “provide a specific date” for when it would complete its review of the files.
The update comes as the Justice Department faces enormous pressure to release all of its files after Congress passed a law in November – with near-unanimous support – giving the department a December 19, 2025, deadline to do so. Epstein, the convicted sex offender who was accused of abusing dozens of underage girls, died by suicide in 2019.
The filing, a letter sent to Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York, is the latest update from the Justice Department as it continues to review and release materials.
The officials wrote in the letter that “the Department has reviewed millions of pages of materials” along with video and audio recordings and has made “substantial progress” in identifying documents and completing redactions to protect victims.
“The Department is not able to provide a specific date at this time and cautions that its ongoing processes, including its quality control checks and document management system preparations, may require additional efforts to ensure the protection of victim identifying information while complying with the broad demands of the Act,” the letter said.
The letter said DOJ efforts have included “manual review by hundreds of Department attorneys, agents and others” who have “dedicated days and weeks” to the effort. CNN previously reported on the department’s scramble to review documents, asking for career prosecutors in Florida to volunteer over the winter holidays to help redact the documents.
The files are made up of papers, videos, photographs and audio files that live within the FBI’s main electronic case management system and largely originate from the FBI’s two major investigations into Epstein, in Florida and New York, spanning decades. A July 2025 FBI memo said that the department had uncovered “more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence” during a review of the investigative materials.
The Justice Department earlier this month said it had released 12,285 documents — less than 1% — of its Epstein-related files, with more than 2 million documents still in review.
A CNN poll conducted by SSRS between January 9-12 found that few Americans are satisfied with the amount of evidence released in the Epstein case, with most saying they believe the government is intentionally holding back information.
A two-thirds majority of Americans said the federal government is intentionally holding back some information about the Epstein case that should be released, while just 16% said the government is making an effort to release all information possible. The remainder said they haven’t heard enough about the case to say.
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