FBI’s Frantic Scramble to Redact the Jeffrey Epstein Files Revealed

Recently released internal emails reveal that the FBI is intensifying its efforts, putting in extra hours, to analyze Epstein’s files under mounting political pressure for their declassification as part of a project dubbed “Project Special Emancipation,” according to Bloomberg.

President Donald Trump returned to office promising to release all FBI documents related to his late friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi to oversee the process.

Conspiracy theories persist among some of Trump’s supporters, claiming that Epstein knew the names of other wealthy or influential sex offenders.

The emails, obtained by Bloomberg through the Freedom of Information Act and detailed by the agency, show that FBI Director Kash Patel sent approximately 1,000 special agents to the bureau’s archives facility in Winchester, Virginia, for intensive document editing training as part of the “Epstein Transparency Project,” also known as the “Special Emancipation Project.”

The documents reveal the bureau’s revised work schedules, costs, and directives, issued by the Justice Department under the direction of 60-year-old Bondi. Bondi initially claimed that Epstein’s “client list” was “on his desk,” before authorities stated in July that it did not exist, further fueling the “Make America Great Again” movement.

According to Bloomberg data, the office paid out $851,344 in overtime between March 17 and 22 alone, and recorded 4,737 overtime hours from January to July, with more than 70% of those hours occurring in March, including night shifts and weekend work.

The news site reported that emails indicated the first phase of the review was “complete” on March 24, while a second, hastily revised phase was being prepared for the Justice Department.

The categories reviewed included “photos of search warrant executions,” “street surveillance videos,” and aerial images, as well as documents related to the investigation into Epstein’s death.

The financier’s death in prison in August 2019 was ruled a suicide. He was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in these crimes.

The Bloomberg documents also reveal the bureaucracy surrounding the project. They include presentations and videos outlining editorial standards, “ready for release” alerts as new files were scanned, and nightly updates when the Justice Department changed the standards mid-process.

One memo, dated April, shows FBI leadership reviewing the latest “Epstein-related revisions,” while another references a prison video that was later released to the public.

Despite months of fighting to keep the files secret, Trump, then 79, signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on November 19, requiring the Justice Department to release them within 30 days.

Reuters reported that the new law allows for redactions to protect ongoing investigations and the privacy of victims. Since then, a Manhattan judge has pressed the Justice Department to detail, within a specified timeframe, the information it intends to release.

While Congress is demanding full disclosure, the Justice Department maintains its commitment to protecting victims.

Trump denies any wrongdoing related to Epstein, with whom he had a friendship that ended in the mid-2000s.