The US Department of Justice has expanded its review of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to 5.2 million.
The department is also increasing the number of lawyers trying to comply with a law mandating release of the files, according to a person briefed on a letter sent to US Attorneys.
The figure is the latest estimate in the expanding review of case files on Epstein and his longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell that has run more than a week past a deadline set in law by Congress.
The Justice Department has more than 400 lawyers assigned to the review, but does not expect to release more documents until January 20 or 21, according to the person briefed on the letter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss it.
The White House did not dispute the figures laid out in the email, and pointed to a statement from Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, who said the administration’s review was an “all-hands-on-deck approach".
Blanche said lawyers are working “around the clock” to review the files.
“We’re asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain,” Blanche said.
“Required redactions to protect victims take time, but they will not stop these materials from being released.”
Still, Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing pressure from Congress after the Justice Department's rollout of information has lagged behind the December 19 deadline to release the information.
“Should Attorney General Pam Bondi be impeached?” lawmaker Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who helped lead the effort to pass the law mandating the document release, asked on social media this week.
Democrats also are reviewing their legal options as they continue to seize on an issue that has caused cracks in the Republican Party and, at times, flummoxed President Donald Trump's administration.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on social media the latest figures from the Department of Justice “shows Bondi, Blanche, and others at the DOJ have been lying to the American people about the Epstein files since day one” and pointed out that the documents released so far represented a fraction of the total.
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who also led the effort to pass the law requiring the release, told The Associated Press the Justice Department's expanding review showed the law is working.
“We are willing to give DOJ a few extra weeks to comply, provided they release the survivors’ statements to the FBI naming the other rich and powerful men who abused them or covered up and the prosecution memos about charges that were dropped against Epstein and co-conspirators,” he said.
“When all the information comes out, this will shock the conscience of the nation.”
Massie has also said he wants to see the release of statements that victims gave to the FBI.
He says those could disclose the names of influential business figures and political donors who were involved or complicit in Epstein's abuse.
The Trump administration has already struggled to move past the Epstein files for the better part of 2025.
While it's not clear what else will be shown in the files, it will almost certainly give Democrats continued fodder to continue to seize on the issue.
So far, Democrats, even though they are in the minority, have forced Congress to act on an issue that has caused splits in Trump's political base.
A tranche of documents released just before Christmas showed Trump flew on Epstein's private jet in the 1990s, when they had a friendship before a falling out.
