The Department of Justice has made “substantial progress” reviewing documents tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but still cannot say when the long-promised release of records will be completed, according to a new court filing from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In a letter filed Thursday to U.S. District Judges Richard Berman and Paul Engelmeyer, Bondi said more than 500 DOJ employees are now assigned to reviewing and redacting Epstein-related materials. She cited the need to protect victims’ identities and manage massive volumes of records, while acknowledging the process has suffered from “inevitable glitches.”
Bondi did not provide a firm timeline for completion, saying only that the department is moving “as expeditiously as possible without compromising victims’ privacy.”
The update comes as the Trump administration faces mounting criticism for missing a December 19 deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the DOJ to release all Epstein-related records in its possession. The missed deadline has frustrated lawmakers, survivors, and advocates who argue the department is unlawfully withholding information.
According to Bondi, the DOJ is using a centralized digital platform to process, deduplicate, and review the files, a task that requires “around-the-clock attention and technical assistance” because of the sheer scale of the materials. In a previous court update on January 5, the department said it had released 12,285 documents but still had more than two million records in various stages of review. Subsequent reporting has put the total number of Epstein-related documents at more than five million.
The delay has triggered bipartisan backlash. Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, the co-authors of the transparency law, have asked the court to appoint a special master and independent monitor to oversee the release of the files.
Khanna accused the DOJ of “openly defying the law,” saying millions of documents remain hidden from the public and that records have allegedly been removed after publication without explanation. Massie went further, accusing Bondi of “egregiously violating” the statute by missing deadlines, making excessive redactions, and withholding internal DOJ communications.
Bondi pushed back in her letter, arguing that much of the work completed so far involves the most sensitive victim-related information and requires careful handling. She emphasized that the department is coordinating staff across multiple offices to accelerate the review.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has also defended the effort publicly, saying DOJ lawyers from across the country have been working through holidays to comply with the law. He said required redactions would not prevent eventual release, and described the administration’s goal as “transparency and protecting victims.”
Still, the next tranche of documents may not arrive soon. Reporting indicates the DOJ does not expect to release additional Epstein files until at least January 20 or 21.
As judges weigh the request for a special master, pressure continues to build on Bondi and the DOJ to explain why, years after Epstein’s death and weeks after a statutory deadline, so much of the record remains sealed.
