US Attorney General Pam Bondi has acknowledged that the release of the full Jeffrey Epstein files has been marred by technical 'glitches', as the Department of Justice (DOJ) fails to meet a key legal deadline.
Missed Deadline and Ongoing Review
In a letter to federal judges this week, Bondi defended the Trump administration's efforts but confirmed the DOJ did not complete the release by the statutory deadline of 19 December. She stated that more than 500 reviewers are currently processing millions of pages of material to prepare the documents for public disclosure under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Bondi insisted substantial progress is being made, with hundreds of staff working daily and coordinating via regular calls. However, she cited the enormous scale of the task, which involves 'deduplicating' decades of documents on a central platform requiring round-the-clock technical support.
Controversies and Calls for Oversight
The process has already seen irregularities. A photograph from Epstein's office, showing a drawer containing pictures of former President Donald Trump, was briefly published on a public portal before being removed. The DOJ stated the removal was due to unrelated safety concerns, not an attempt to conceal evidence, and the image was later reinstated. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
Frustrated by the delays, Congressmen Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie asked a federal court on Monday to appoint a special master to oversee the document release. They argued the DOJ 'cannot be trusted' with making the mandatory disclosures.
Survivors Raise Concerns Over Redactions
Separately, survivors of Epstein's abuse have petitioned the DOJ's internal watchdog to review the file releases. In a letter, they highlighted a 'troubling pattern of selective redactions', where names of alleged participants were obscured while identifying details of survivors were sometimes left visible.
To date, the DOJ has published just over 12,000 documents of the more than 2 million it is required to release under the Act, signed in November. Despite Bondi's assurances, pressure is mounting for full and transparent disclosure.
