Officials from the attorney general’s office announced on Wednesday that they’ve been working diligently over the holiday period to review and edit a large volume of documents related to the Epstein case before they are released to the public.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche shared a statement on X, mentioning that various attorneys from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Main Justice, FBI, SDFL, and SDNY have been working “around the clock” during Christmas and New Year’s to ensure that sensitive information about the victims is properly redacted.
“This is genuinely a team effort, and we’re urging as many attorneys as possible to devote their time to reviewing the remaining files,” Blanche noted. “While it will take time to make the necessary redactions for the protection of victims, we must continue with the publication of these documents.”
This update comes in light of recent legal threats following the department’s failure to meet the Dec. 19 deadline set by the Epstein File Transparency Act for releasing all documents associated with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier.
Blanche had previously stated that there was “well-written legislation” supporting the timing past the deadline since the law requires redacting identifying information about victims before any documents can be published.
“The objectives of the Attorney General and this administration are straightforward: to promote transparency while ensuring protection for victims,” he added on Wednesday.
The Epstein File Transparency Act, enacted by President Donald Trump on November 19, mandates that the Justice Department withhold any details that might identify victims or compromise ongoing legal actions or investigations. Additionally, it allows the authorities to exclude content considered sensitive to national security or foreign policy.
While it remains ambiguous how many files still require review, the Justice Department acknowledged last week that the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York have recently submitted over 1 million additional pages of documents potentially relevant to the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking case.
Officials indicated that the extensive review process could take several weeks, which might further delay the release of the documents, a promise Blanche previously communicated would occur “gradually.”
