WASHINGTON – In a surprising turn of events, the Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it has stumbled upon over a million documents potentially pertinent to the case of the late Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex offender. This unexpected discovery means the department will need additional time to release all its records, pushing past the congressionally mandated deadline set for last Friday.

The announcement came on the heels of a Christmas Eve plea from a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. This group, comprised of eleven Democrats and one Republican, urged the Justice Department’s watchdog to investigate the department’s failure to meet the deadline. In their letter to Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume, they emphasized that Epstein’s victims deserve comprehensive disclosure and the reassurance that only an independent audit can provide.

In a social media update, the Justice Department revealed that federal prosecutors in Manhattan, alongside the FBI, had unveiled this massive trove of documents related to Epstein. This revelation was particularly striking given that just months ago, department officials had implied they had already conducted a thorough review, supposedly covering all Epstein-related materials.

The Justice Department has not specified when they became aware of these newly discovered documents. However, last week Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche mentioned that Manhattan federal prosecutors were already in possession of over 3.6 million records from sex trafficking investigations concerning Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. He noted that many of these documents were duplicates of those already obtained by the FBI.

Currently, Justice Department attorneys are diligently working to sift through these documents, ensuring they redact any victim names and identifying details. This meticulous task is in line with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law passed last month mandating the government to disclose its files on Epstein and Maxwell.

“We will release the documents as soon as possible,” the department said. “Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks.”

The announcement came amid i ncreasing scrutiny on the Justice Department’s staggered release of Epstein-related records, including from Epstein victims and members of Congress. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, a co-sponsor of the transparency act, posted Wednesday on X: “DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline.”

After releasing an initial wave of records on Friday, more batches were posted over the weekend and on Tuesday. The Justice Department has not given any notice when more records might arrive.

Records that have been released, including photographs, interview transcripts, call logs, court records and other documents, were either already public or heavily blacked out, and many lacked necessary context. Records that hadn’t been seen before include transcripts of grand jury testimony from FBI agents who described interviews they had with several girls and young women who described being paid to perform sex acts for Epstein.

Other records made public in recent days include a note from a federal prosecutor from January 2020 that said Trump had flown on the financier’s private plane more often than had been previously known and emails between Maxwell and someone who signs off with the initial “A.” They contain other references that suggest the writer was Britain’s former Prince Andrew. In one, “A” writes: “How’s LA? Have you found me some new inappropriate friends?”

The senators’ call Wednesday for an inspector general audit comes days after Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a resolution that, if passed, would direct the Senate to file or join lawsuits aimed at forcing the Justice Department to comply with the disclosure and deadline requirements. In a statement, he called the staggered, heavily redacted release “a blatant cover-up.”

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., in leading the call for an inspector general audit. Others signing the letter were Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota., Adam Schiff of California, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Cory Booker and Andy Kim, both of New Jersey, Gary Peters of Michigan, Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

“Given the (Trump) Administration’s historic hostility to releasing the files, politicization of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential,” the senators wrote. Full transparency, they said, “is essential in identifying members of our society who enabled and participated in Epstein’s crimes.”

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Sisak reported from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.