FBI personnel worked over 3,000 hours of overtime in March to prepare Epstein files for release, costing more than $850,000, only to have President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi halt the process, according to emails obtained by Bloomberg.
The overtime push was ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel after Bondi’s botched release of “Phase 1” in February. Around 1,000 agents were tasked with adding to Phase 1 and preparing Phase 2. Between March 17 and 22, agents racked up over $850,000 in overtime, reviewing documents, surveillance photos, and video of the hallway outside Epstein’s jail cell.
By March 24, Phase 2 was being prepared for final delivery to the Justice Department, and appeared completed around May 2. However, it was never released. In July, the Justice Department issued a memo stating “no further disclosures” were warranted, and Bondi and Trump urged the public to “move on.”
This reversal contrasts with Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to release the files and Bondi’s February claim that Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.” The FBI and Justice Department maintain that Epstein had no client list and that he died by suicide, not murder.
Democrats have accused Trump of covering up a conspiracy to protect himself or others. Trump has called the Epstein issue a Democratic “hoax.” A recently passed bill signed by Trump gives the government another chance to release the documents, but the Justice Department retains final say.
