Jeffrey Epstein in 2013 (U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Justice/Wikimedia Commons)
Friday, December 19 saw the release of countless U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) files on the late billionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, albeit with heavy redactions. And the release of more Epstein files followed.
Those heavy redactions are a source of widespread frustration, and many legal analysts on CNN and MS NOW are saying that quite a few questions about Epstein's crimes remain unanswered.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz, in an article published on Christmas Eve Day 2025, reveals that DOJ "asked career prosecutors in Florida to volunteer over the 'next several days' to help redact the Epstein files."
Polantz reports, "A supervising prosecutor in the Southern District of Florida's U.S. Attorney's Office e-mailed the entire district office on Tuesday, (December 23) — two days before Christmas — announcing an 'emergency request from the (Deputy Attorney General's) office the SDFL must assist with,' according to a copy of the e-mail reviewed by CNN. 'We need AUSAs to do remote document review and redactions related to the Epstein files,' the e-mail said."
That e-mail, according to Polantz, "raises the possibility of more Epstein files being released over the coming days, including the Christmas and New Year's holidays."
"It also underlines the public and political backlash the Justice Department has faced since the deadline passed on Friday, (December 19), to release all documents in the federal government's possession, as mandated by an act of Congress calling for transparency around Epstein files," the CNN reporter explains. "The Justice Department acknowledged it had not gotten through redacting many of the files by Friday and has continued to release documents this week…. The Christmas-week request, from a top career prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, attempts to entice volunteer attorneys to work on the files now, in exchange for days off later."
The December 23 e-mail, according to Polantz, reads, "I am aware that the timing could not be worse. For some the holidays are about to begin, but I know that for others the holidays are coming to an end."
Read Katelyn Polantz's full article for CNN at this link.
