The Department of Justice said Wednesday it needs more time to make public all its files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
In an announcement on social media, the DOJ said it “may take a few more weeks” to review and redact “over a million more documents potentially related” to Epstein that were “uncovered” by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
“We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible,” the DOJ wrote.
Lawmakers in Congress have already announced plans to take legal action against the DOJ for failing to comply with the Dec. 19 deadline set by law.
In response to the DOJ’s announcement, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. — who led the bipartisan effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act alongside Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. — said Wednesday that the pair “will continue to keep the pressure on.” The two lawmakers previously announced that they are planning to bring inherent contempt proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi for having only partially released the files.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have also called out the Justice Department for failing to meet the deadline and for releasing the files in a way that makes it hard to find information related to their cases. In a joint statement published Monday, the survivors wrote that “Survivors deserve truth. Survivors whose identities are private deserve protection. The public deserves accountability. And the law must be enforced.”
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.