DOJ says lawyers working 'around the clock' to prep Epstein files for release after missed deadline

Lawmakers call for accountability as DOJ says Epstein file release may take weeks

Fox News correspondent Alexandria Hoff has the latest on the release of the Epstein files on ‘Special Report.’ 

Officials with the Attorney General's Office said Wednesday they are working relentlessly over the holidays to review and redact troves of documents in the Epstein files, prior to their mandated public release.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement on X noting Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers from Main Justice, FBI, SDFL and SDNY are "working around the clock" through Christmas and New Years to review documents, ensuring sensitive victim information is redacted from the impending release.

"It truly is an all-hands-on-deck approach and we're asking as many lawyers as possible to commit their time to review the documents that remain," Blanche wrote in the post. "Required redactions to protect victims take time but they will not stop these materials from being released."

Blanche's update comes amid recent threats of legal action after the department missed the Epstein Files Transparency Act's Dec. 19 deadline to publish all of its documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Department of Justice released a trove of Epstein documents on Dec. 19 following President Trump's signature on the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November.  (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

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He previously argued there was "well-settled law" supporting the missed deadline, as other legal requirements in the bill must be met prior to release, including redacting victim-identifying information.

"The Attorney General’s and this Administration’s goal is simple: transparency and protecting victims," Blanche wrote Wednesday.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed Nov. 19 by President Donald Trump, required the DOJ to withhold information that could identify potential victims or compromise ongoing investigations or litigation.

A view of the compound on Epstein's island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

DOJ RESTORES TRUMP PHOTO TO EPSTEIN FILES AFTER DETERMINING NO VICTIMS DEPICTED 

It also allowed officials to exclude material deemed sensitive to national defense or foreign policy.

While it remains unclear how many files still need to be reviewed, the DOJ last week confirmed the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York recently submitted more than 1 million additional pages of potentially responsive documents related to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases.

Former President Bill Clinton was seen in photos with Jeffrey Epstein as part of a DOJ Epstein files release on Friday, Dec. 19. (Department of Justice)

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Officials said the "mass volume" of material could take weeks to examine, further delaying their release, which was promised by Blanche on a "rolling basis," Fox News Digital previously reported.

Fox News Digital's Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.