The White House has reportedly assumed direct management of the US Department of Justice's official X (formerly Twitter) account. This unprecedented move aims to more aggressively challenge online conspiracy theories and commentary swirling around the ongoing disclosure of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
A Sharper, Campaign-Style Tone
According to a report from Axios, the DOJ's social media presence has undergone a significant transformation. It has shed its traditionally reserved and formal tone for a much sharper, campaign-style approach. This new aggressive posture mirrors tactics previously seen during the Trump administration and is similar to the style adopted by other departments like Homeland Security.
The revamped account now actively posts content designed to counter rampant online speculation. It simultaneously works to highlight the extensive scope and rapid pace of the document review process being conducted by federal officials.
The Scale of the Epstein Document Review
A dedicated Department of Justice team of roughly 200 people has so far reviewed and disclosed approximately 750,000 records. Officials state that a further 700,000 records are still awaiting examination. However, they caution that many of these files are duplicates or administratively redundant. This means the final public release will likely contain thousands of new documents, rather than the hundreds of thousands some had anticipated.
One official involved told Axios, "This will end soon," in reference to the disclosure effort, but grimly added, "the conspiracy theories won't." This shift in communications strategy reflects a broader frustration within the administration over persistent online narratives. Officials continue to emphasise that they are meeting all legal requirements and transparency commitments set by Congress.
Political Reactions and New Revelations
The political fallout from the document release is intensifying. On Tuesday, 19 November 2025, the Justice Department released a major new batch of over 11,000 Epstein-related files. This cache totalled nearly 30,000 pages and included photos, court records, FBI and DOJ documents, emails, news clippings, and videos.
Congressman Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who co-led the congressional push for disclosure, labelled Tuesday's release "a bombshell." He highlighted that the files revealed former President Donald Trump flew on Epstein's plane at least eight times between 1993 and 1996. Khanna stated this was "many more times" than a federal prosecutor was aware of, according to a 2020 email also contained in the files.
Khanna has accused the DOJ of "spending more time protecting the Epstein class than the survivors, whose names are required by law to be redacted." His Republican partner on the Congressional discharge petition, Thomas Massie, raised questions about who was controlling the DOJ X account on Christmas Eve, querying the use of informal language like "dope" to refer to reporters.
Criticism has also come from former Obama-era national security advisor Tommy Vietor, who called Attorney General Pam Bondi's Department of Justice "ridiculously incompetent."
Experts Urge Caution
Amid the political noise, legal and transparency experts are advising the public to interpret the disclosed documents with care. They note that while the release is significant, many pages are duplicates, heavily redacted to protect victims, or contain unproven allegations and inferences rather than established facts. The challenge for authorities remains navigating the public's demand for transparency while responsibly managing a case mired in complex legal and ethical issues.
