“We will release the documents as soon as possible,” the department said. “Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”
The announcement came amid increasing scrutiny on the Justice Department’s staggered release of Epstein-related records, including from Epstein victims and members of Congress.
Republican representative Thomas Massie, of Kentucky – one of the chief authors of the law mandating the document release – posted on X: “DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline.”
Another architect of the law, representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said he and Massie would “continue to keep the pressure on” and noted that the department was releasing more documents after lawmakers threatened contempt.
“A Christmas Eve news dump of ‘a million more files’ only proves what we already know: Trump is engaged in a massive cover-up,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer – a Democrat from New York – said after DOJ’s announcement.
“The question Americans deserve answered is simple: WHAT are they hiding – and WHY?”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the Trump administration of a cover-up over the “Christmas Eve news dump” of a million more Epstein files.Credit: Bloomberg
The White House on Wednesday defended the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein records.
“President Trump has assembled the greatest cabinet in American history, which includes Attorney General Bondi and her team – like Deputy Attorney General Blanche – who are doing a great job implementing the President’s agenda,” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
After releasing an initial wave of records on Friday, the Justice Department posted more batches to its website over the weekend and on Tuesday. The Justice Department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.
Loading
Records that have been released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context. Records that hadn’t been seen before include transcripts of grand jury testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein.
Other records made public in recent days include a note from a federal prosecutor from January 2020 that said Trump had flown on the financier’s private plane more often than had been previously known and emails between Maxwell and someone who signs off with the initial “A.” They contain other references that suggest the writer was Britain’s former Prince Andrew. In one, “A” writes: “How’s LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”
The senators’ call on Wednesday for an inspector general audit comes days after Schumer introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the disclosure and deadline requirements.
Loading
“Given the [Trump] Administration’s historic hostility to releasing the files, politicisation of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential,” the senators wrote.
Full transparency, they said, “is essential in identifying members of our society who enabled and participated in Epstein’s crimes”.
AP
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.