US Justice Dept. says it may need a ‘few more weeks’ to finish releasing Epstein files

The US Justice Department says it may need a “few more weeks” to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents, further delaying compliance with last Friday’s congressionally mandated deadline.

The Eve announcement comes 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.

The Justice Department says in a social media post that US federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI “have uncovered over a million more documents” that could be related to the Epstein case — a stunning 11th-hour development after department officials suggested months ago that they had undertaken a comprehensive review that accounted for the vast universe of Epstein-related materials.

The post did not say when the Justice Department was informed of the newly uncovered files. In a letter last week, US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors already had more than 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell, though many were copies of material already turned over by the FBI.

The Justice Department says its lawyers are “working around the clock” to review the documents and remove victims’ names and other identifying information as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted last month that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell.

“We will release the documents as soon as possible,” the department says. “Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”