2:41In this Jan. 24, 2023, file image, the emblem of the U.S. Justice Department is visible on the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room in Washington, D.C.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters, FILE
The Department of Justice is requesting assistance in evaluating 5.2 million pages of unexamined documents concerning convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, aiming to recruit a total of 400 lawyers from its criminal and national security divisions, as well as from the U.S. attorneys’ offices in Florida and New York, according to individuals familiar with the situation.
As Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche informed ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas during an interview earlier this month, the DOJ already had nearly 200 attorneys engaged in reviewing the documents.
However, in recent days, department leadership has communicated to the staff that additional assistance is necessary.
The New York Times was the first to report this development.
In this Jan. 24, 2023, file image, the emblem of the U.S. Justice Department is visible on the podium in the Department’s headquarters briefing room in Washington, D.C.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters, FILE
The examination of the documents is anticipated to occupy much of January, according to sources.
The reallocation of resources from both the criminal and national security divisions has already raised concerns among current and former DOJ officials, given that the department has previously redirected many of those resources towards immigration enforcement, according to insiders.
At this time, the next batch of documents is not expected to be released until the end of next month, sources indicate.
Congress enacted the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, mandating the release of the DOJ’s files on Epstein. This legislation required the DOJ to disclose all documents, with specific exceptions for victim privacy and ongoing investigations, by Friday, Dec. 19. Missing the deadline, the DOJ stated it has been hindered by the vetting process to safeguard victims.
An undated image from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate is part of a collection of photographs released on Dec. 18, 2025, by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.House Oversight Committee Democrats
It remains unclear why the Department of Justice is only now asserting that it has recently uncovered over 5 million pages of documents from its inquiries into Epstein, who took his own life in 2019 in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi reprimanded the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York after she stated they had only just informed her of the existence of hundreds of thousands of documents that had not previously been shared with her office. It remains unclear why they are only now claiming to have become aware of this extensive volume of supposed unexamined materials.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com