Name: Epstein files yet to be released larger than previously known: lawyer
Uploaded: 2026-01-02T17:58:22.281Z
Duration: 3 min 41 s
Description: Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein survivors are alleging that a large number of files have yet to be released by the Department of Justice.

Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein survivors are alleging that a large number of files have yet to be released by the Department of Justice.

Washington

Lawyers representing survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring report that the amount of unreleased case files is much larger than previously believed, with only about 1% of the documents made public so far. The Justice Department, required by law to release all files by December 19, has not met this deadline, and is currently reviewing approximately five million pages of material.

Survivors and their attorneys argue that the delay not only violates the law but also causes further distress due to a lack of communication about when their information will be released. The Department of Justice has stated it is working intensively to release more files but has not provided a specific timeline for completion.

Epstein files yet to be released larger than previously known: lawyer

Lawyers for a group of Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking survivors say the scale of files yet to be released is far larger than previously known. The attorneys say that as little as 1% of Epstein's case files have so far been released by the Justice Department and the New York Times is reporting that five million pages of files are being reviewed. Earlier this year, President Trump signed a bill into law that required the DOJ to release all of its files by December 19th. A deadline, of course, that has come and gone. CBS News Justice Correspondent Scott McFarlane joins me now with more on this. Scott, we know you've been following this very closely. So what happened here? I mean, why weren't all of those files already released? And that's a political question as well as a logistical question, Chanel. I mean, there are Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee who are asking for an internal investigation as to why all these records weren't released by December 19th. Because December 19th was the statutory deadline for the full release of the Epstein files. And based on our CBS News review and our conversation with sources, it appears quite clear as this weekend begins only a small fraction of the millions of pages of files have been released so far. One attorney for a group of survivors estimates it's 1% has been released so far. Wow. And there are survivors who are arguing this is not only a flouting of the law, but a re-traumatization of survivors who are wondering when their files or their information's going to be released and not getting an open line of communication about it. We asked the Department of Justice for an update on their timeline, and they issued a statement to CBS News saying they have all hands on deck, including through the holiday weekend to try to get more files out as quickly as possible. But they're giving no date certain in that statement or in their communication about when this happens. And if there are millions of pages more still to be released, there's no sense it happens anytime soon. And we know the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee has also released the transcript from former special counsel Jack Smith's closed-door deposition last month. What more do we know about what was in that? 250 pages of transcript from Jack Smith's interview a few weeks ago with the House Judiciary Committee. They alternated questioning. Republicans questioned him for an hour, then Democrats did, back and forth. And the big takeaways from my read is that Jack Smith was declaratively confident in his investigation of President Trump for election subversion after 2020. And Smith said in so many words, he was confident he was gonna get a conviction and that Trump was the one to prosecute because, according to Jack Smith, he was the one who drove efforts to overturn the 2020 election and that January 6th, the attack on the Capitol would not have happened if not for President Trump. I wanna show you among the many reactions, a statement from Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who's the top Democrat on that Judiciary Committee and also served back in the day on the House January 6th Select Committee. What Jamie Raskin said about this eight-hour interview with Jack Smith is that the release of special counsel Jack Smith's full deposition makes crystal clear what this administration and its allies in Congress have tried so desperately to hide. These criminal prosecutions were not failed. They were blocked. He said Mr. Smith testified compellingly, unequivocally, and his office developed proof beyond any reasonable doubt Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the election and willfully retained highly classified documents after leaving office. We're now reaching the five-year mark of the January 6th attack, Chanel, and clearly this remains a visceral, divisive issue here in Washington. Scott McFarlane, thank you.

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Breakdown