The Trump administration has revealed that a staggering 700,000 documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case still require review and potential public release, a process officials estimate could take another week. This disclosure follows the Justice Department's largest document dump to date on Tuesday, 23 December 2025.
A Mountain of Paperwork and Mounting Frustration
According to an official speaking to Axios, a team of approximately 200 people has already reviewed and released around 750,000 documents concerning the late convicted sex offender. Despite this colossal effort, a significant backlog remains. The outlet reported a "palpable sense of exasperation" within the administration over the crisis, which continues to generate damaging headlines.
Officials are said to be growing increasingly frustrated by the saga, which shows little sign of ending. "It's a combination of extreme frustration at everything: at what Congress did, at our response to it, and a concern that it won't go away," one official stated. While another insisted "This will end soon," they grimly added, "The conspiracy theories won't."
The administration's handling has been further criticised for what has been described as a "clumsy" and partial release of heavily redacted files. There was immediate outcry when the Justice Department failed to release all documents by the 19 December deadline, a date set by federal law signed by President Trump himself.
Trump References and a 'Fake' Letter
President Donald Trump, who had a known association with Epstein until the early 2000s, was referenced multiple times in the latest batch of files. The Justice Department was quick to issue a defensive statement, claiming the files contain "untrue and sensationalist claims" possibly intended to influence the 2020 election.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasised that document production can sometimes result in releasing false items simply because the law requires it. He highlighted a purported letter from "J. Epstein" to convicted abuser Larry Nassar, postmarked 13 August 2019—three days after Epstein's death—as a key example of fabricated evidence.
"Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls," the fake letter read. The Justice Department later determined it was inauthentic due to mismatched handwriting and an incorrect postmark location.
New Revelations and Unnamed Co-Conspirators
Among the genuine revelations was a January 2020 message from a federal prosecutor in Manhattan. It claimed flight records showed Trump had travelled on Epstein's private jet "many more times than previously has been reported," including during the period when prosecutors were preparing charges against Ghislaine Maxwell. The records indicated at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, with Maxwell present on four.
The documents also included several unverified tips collected by the FBI regarding Trump's involvement with Epstein and parties at their properties in the early 2000s. It is not clear if these allegations were ever pursued or corroborated.
Perhaps most significantly, the files indicate investigators identified at least 10 co-conspirators in Epstein's sex trafficking case in 2019, none of whom have been publicly named. This finding appears to contradict testimony from FBI Director Kash Patel, who told senators earlier this year there was "no credible information" that Epstein trafficked women to anyone but himself.
Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, President Trump addressed the document release, stating Epstein was "all over Palm Beach" and many people innocently crossed paths with him. He expressed anger that pictures with Epstein could ruin reputations.
With hundreds of thousands of documents still in the pipeline, the political and legal fallout from the Epstein case is set to continue well into the new year.
