The Trump administration is racing against the clock to redact thousands of Jeffrey Epstein documents before the Friday deadline for their release, according to new reporting.
Attorneys working at the Justice Department’s National Security Division have each been parsing through 1,000 documents a week since Thanksgiving, a source familiar with the process told CNN.
They are weighing executive and legal privacy, victims’ protections, and other concerns as they determine what to redact.
But several sources told the outlet that the lawyers feel they lack clear guidance on how to release as much information as legally possible. One person said the lawyers have received just four pages of guidance.
Counterintelligence specialists have been asked to put a hold on nearly all of their other work to focus on reviewing the Epstein documents, two people told CNN. Some have reportedly declined to participate.
Last month, President Donald Trump—a one-time friend of Epstein—finally signed a new law officially directing the DOJ to release all unclassified records and documents connected to the late sex offender by Friday, Dec. 19.
Trump’s push came only after it became clear that enough Republicans would break ranks with the president and vote in favor of releasing the files on the disgraced financier, who associated with powerful figures until he died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Democrats and some Republicans have warned that the DOJ could keep information from the public, as the law gives Attorney General Pam Bondi broad authority to redact.
Sources told CNN that extensive redactions have been made—enough to deepen doubts about the Trump administration’s transparency, given the public’s already-suspicious view of how they have handled the files.
Legal document specialists are already bracing for the chance that the DOJ will over-redact the files, and for potential errors in what is withheld or disclosed, according to CNN, in part due to the limited time lawyers have to process the mountain of documents.
Under the law requiring the release of the files, the DOJ can redact information that could jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution. At Trump’s urging, Bondi last month said she would launch investigations into Democrats who were once associated with Epstein.
When reached for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Beast in a statement, “President Trump has been consistently calling for transparency related to the Epstein files and his Administration has delivered—by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, and President Trump recently calling for further investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, the Trump Administration has done more for the victims than Democrats ever have. Meanwhile, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett still have not explained why they were engaging with Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
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