Justice Department Reports to Court It Is Reviewing FBI/DOJ Epstein Records for Possible Release

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced it filed a “joint status report” on July 7 in federal court reporting that the Justice Department and the FBI continue to search for and review records in response to Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit for records regarding Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit requests any records on the identities of clients or associates of Epstein. The Justice Department’s disclosure is at odds with the leaked, unsigned and undated Justice Department/FBI memo that suggests no more Epstein records would be disclosed to the American public. The memo was first disclosed late on July 6.

Judicial Watch sued the Justice Department and FBI in April 2025 after they failed to adequately respond to three separate FOIA requests for records filed in February 2025 concerning Epstein, including a specific request for records “depicting the identities of clients or associates of Epstein.” Epstein document requests were sent to the Justice Department’s the Office of Information Policy, the Criminal Division, and two separate requests were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-01056)).

The joint status report states:

Plaintiff Judicial Watch, Inc. and Defendant U.S. Department of Justice, by counsel and pursuant to the Court’s June 12, 2025, order, respectfully submit this joint status report:

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(2)(3) the anticipated number of documents responsive to Plaintiff’s FOIA request, and the anticipated date(s) for release of the documents requested by Plaintiff

Federal Bureau of Investigation

• • For 1662669-0 (any/all Epstein records), the FBI has run its initial searches and is in the process of reviewing those search results.
  • For 1662711-0 (Communications of Director Patel’s regarding Epstein client list), the FBI’s search efforts are ongoing.
  • The FBI does not yet have an anticipated number of documents or anticipated dates for release.

  Executive Office of United States Attorneys

  • EOUSA’s initial search efforts are ongoing.
  • EOUSA does not yet have an anticipated number of documents or anticipated dates for release.

  Office of Information Policy

  • OIP issued a final response to FOIA-2025-02863 on April 15, 2025, informing Plaintiff that no responsive to its request were located. [Available here]

The government has yet to turn over one document, nor has it disclosed when any documents might be released.

The Judicial Watch complaint references a February 24, 2025, Fox News report, which states that President Trump’s “return to the Oval Office came with the prospect of the public finally being able to see Epstein’s long-awaited ‘black book’ amid inquiries into the deceased financier and sex trafficker.”

Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

The Justice Department on February 27, 2025, released a long-awaited trove of documents related to Epstein. As stated by the New York Post: “But the much-hyped, roughly 200-page document dump provided no big revelations, instead listing celebrities and politicians who were already known to have palled around with the notorious pedophile.”

But the recent Justice Department memo suggests there will be no more public disclosures:

To that end, while we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government’s possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.

“The Justice Department and FBI are sending out contradictory messages: telling the American people that no more Epstein material will be released, while telling the federal court in our case that the Epstein FOIA review is proceeding,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “But no matter, our FOIA lawsuit for the Epstein material continues. We will be relentless in demanding transparency under law.”

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