US attorneys reviewed millions of pages of Epstein files in January before releasing more, the document shows

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said it had 5.2 million pages of Epstein files left to review and needed 400 lawyers from four different department offices to help with the process by late January, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.

This is likely to extend the final release of the documents longer than expected after the December 19 deadline set by Congress, the document said.

The White House and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

The Trump administration has ordered the Department of Justice to release files tied to the criminal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, who was a friend of US President Donald Trump in the 1990s, in accordance with legislation passed by Congress last month.

In total, the Criminal Division, the National Security Division, the FBI and the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan are providing 400 lawyers to review the files, the document said, a number that is more accurate, and could be much larger than the department’s previous estimates.

The review will take place in January, the document said.

Department leaders are offering telework options and time off awards as incentives for volunteers, the document said, adding that assistant attorneys are expected to provide three to five hours a day to review approximately 1,000 documents per day.

The DOJ said last week it has released more than a million additional documents that may be connected to Epstein.

So far, the revelations have been largely redacted, frustrating some Republicans and doing little to end the scandal that threatens the party ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The law, approved by Congress with broad bipartisan support, requires all files related to Epstein to be made public, despite Trump’s efforts for months to keep them sealed. Under this law, all documents were supposed to be released on December 19, and postponed to protect the victims.

Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. He said that their association ended in the mid-2000s and that he had no knowledge of sexual harassment of financiers.

Epstein was convicted in Florida in 2008 of procuring a person under the age of 18 for trafficking. The Department of Justice indicted him for sex trafficking in 2019. Epstein was found dead in 2019 in a New York prison and his death was ruled a suicide.

In a message shared on X last week, the Department of Justice said, “We have attorneys working around the clock to review and make the necessary changes to the law to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible. Due to the volume of material, this process may take several more weeks.”