Attorneys in top federal prosecutors' office 'crushed by the work' of reviewing 2 million pages in Epstein files [View all]

Source: The Independent

Thursday 22 January 2026 10:41 EST


Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, one of the premier federal prosecutors’ offices in the United States, are reportedly being ‘crushed’ by the workload as they sift through the massive trove of Epstein files – as members of the public and lawmakers impatiently wait for further releases.

For weeks, hundreds of attorneys in the prestigious federal trial court have been dedicated to redacting sensitive information about survivors as required under the recently passed Epstein Files Transparency Act, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton has told the Justice Department.

Congress initially imposed a deadline of December 19 to release all documents, including those in the New York court cases against Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. But inside the office, those familiar with the matter describe prosecutors being “crushed by the work” in trying to review the more than two million documents, according to Politico.

Nearly every single prosecutor, even those working on high-profile cases, as well as some top-ranking executive staff, is assisting in reviewing files. Sometimes the work can even carry into the weekend, sources the outlet. The Southern District of New York declined to comment when contacted by The Independent.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/epstein-file-redactions-prosecutors-sdny-b2905697.html