Epstein files deadline is long gone. When will more docs be released?

The Justice Department said in a Tuesday court filing that it expects to complete processing millions of files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “in the near term,” but did not provide a timeline to release the information to the public as required by law.

More than a month has passed since the deadline set by Congress for the Department of Justice to publish all its Epstein files and upwards of millions of documents and photographs have not been released.

In the filing, DOJ said it has made “substantial progress” in identifying documents and redacting victim-identifying information from emails, text messages and video and audio recordings.

“Hundreds of Department employees are working diligently to complete this review as expeditiously as possible without compromising victims’ privacy so that its production can be complete,” the filing states.

In November 2025, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which ordered the Justice Department to release all its documents on Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019.

President Donald Trump signed the act into law on Nov. 19 giving the Justice Department 30 days to release all its files with the exception of those that could violate victims’ privacy or jeopardize federal investigations.

In the final hours before the Dec. 19, deadline, the department began to issue a tranche of emails, photos and other documents related to Epstein.

But only a fraction of the department’s files were released. And of those that were, many of them arrived to the DOJ’s so-called Epstein library with heavy redactions or no context. The department also didn’t provide a written explanation for all redactions, as the law also required.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the time that lawyers were still sifting through the ⁠materials to make sure victims’ names or identifying information weren’t accidentally released, and that it would likely take several weeks to produce the remaining pages.

With five weeks already passed since that deadline, here’s the latest on the Epstein files release.

Millions of files still being reviewed, DOJ said earlier this month

The Justice Department said in a court filing earlier this month that nearly 13,000 documents had been posted to the Epstein library so far, but up to two million more still need to be reviewed.

In a Jan. 5 filing addressed to U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in New York, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche said 400 lawyers and 100 document analysts were reviewing the documents to ensure victims’ names were redacted.

Another court filing said the department has made “substantial progress” in the review process since the Jan. 5 update, but did not specify how many more documents were still pending review.

“The Department is coordinating resources for this review from various components and offices. Leadership from these various components holds daily calls (sometimes twice daily) to address progress, coordination, deduplication, reviewer questions, victim issues, and technical issues,” Bondi and Blanche said in the Jan. 15 filing.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for updates on when more files will be released and when all the documents and photos will be available.

The Tuesday filing states that the hand review of “several millions” of pages of materials, including internal department communications, documents acquired and created in the course of various investigations, as well as audio and video files obtained during those investigations.

“The Department is not able to provide a specific date at this time and cautions that its ongoing processes, including its quality control checks and document management system preparations, may require additional efforts to ensure the protection of victim identifying information,” the filing said about when the process will be complete.

Congressional push for independent review denied

Reps. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, who led the effort to force the release of the Epstein files, asked a judge to intervene in the review process.

In a Jan. 8 letter, the lawmakers asked Engelmayer to appoint a special master or independent monitor to ensure the Justice Department complies with the law to release the Epstein files.

“The conduct by the DOJ is not only ⁠a flagrant violation of the mandatory disclosure obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but as this Court has recognized in its previous rulings, the behavior by the DOJ has caused serious trauma to survivors,” the letter said.

Bondi and Blanche filed a response arguing that ⁠Massie and Khanna do not have a legal basis for the request.

On Jan. 21, Engelmayer denied the congressmen’s request, saying the federal criminal case is not the place to determine whether the Justice Department is complying with the law.