After missing deadline, DOJ says it may need 'few more weeks' to finish releasing Epstein files

The Justice Department said Wednesday that it may need a few more weeks to release all of its records on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after suddenly discovering more than a million potentially relevant documents further delaying compliance with last Fridays congressionally mandated deadlineThe Christmas Eve announcement came hours after a dozen US senators called on the Justice Departments watchdog to examine its failure to meet the deadline The group 11 Democrats and a Republican told Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume in a letter that victims deserve full disclosure and the peace of mind of an independent auditThe Justice Department said in a social media post that federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI have uncovered over a million more documents that could be related to the Epstein case a stunning 11thhour development after department officials suggested months ago that they had undertaken a comprehensive review that accounted for the vast universe of Epsteinrelated materialsIn March Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News that a truckload of evidence had been delivered to her after she ordered the Justice Department to deliver the full and complete Epstein files to my office a directive she said she made after learning from an unidentified source that the FBI in New York was in possession of thousands of pages of documentsIn July the FBI and Justice Department indicated in an unsigned memo that they had undertaken an exhaustive review and had determined that no additional evidence should be released an extraordinary aboutface from the Trump administration which for months had pledged maximum transparency The memo did not raise the possibility that additional evidence existed that officials were unaware of or had not reviewedWednesdays post did not say when the Justice Department was informed of the newly uncovered files In a letter last week Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Manhattan federal prosecutors already had more than 36 million records from sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and Maxwell though many were copies of material already turned over by the FBIThe Justice Department said its lawyers are working around the clock to review the documents and remove victims names and other identifying information as required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act the law enacted last month that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine MaxwellWe 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 Departments staggered release of Epsteinrelated records including from Epstein victims and members of CongressRepublican Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky one of the chief authors of the law mandating the document release posted Wednesday on X DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline Another architect of the law Rep Ro Khanna DCalif said he and Massie will continue to keep the pressure on and noted that the Justice Department was releasing more documents after lawmakers threatened contemptAfter releasing an initial wave of records on Friday more batches were posted over the weekend and on Tuesday The Justice Department has not given any notice when more records might arriveRecords 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 hadnt 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 EpsteinOther records made public in recent days include a note from a federal prosecutor from January 2020 that said Trump had flown on the financiers 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 Britains former Prince Andrew In one A writes Hows LA Have you found me some new inappropriate friendsThe senators call Wednesday for an inspector general audit comes days after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer DNY 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 In a statement he called the staggered heavily redacted release a blatant coverupRepublican Sen Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Sens Richard Blumenthal DConn and Jeff Merkley DOre in leading the call for an inspector general audit Others signing the letter were Democratic Sens Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota Adam Schiff of California Dick Durbin of Illinois Cory Booker and Andy Kim both of New Jersey Gary Peters of Michigan Chris Van Hollen of Maryland Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode IslandGiven the Trump Administrations historic hostility to releasing the files politicization 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 Epsteins crimesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever