Listen to the article
FBI Spent Over $850,000 on Overtime for Epstein File Redactions, Documents Reveal
Nearly 1,000 FBI agents worked overtime in March 2025 to process and redact files related to Jeffrey Epstein, costing taxpayers more than $850,000 in just one week, according to FBI documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
The records, secured by Bloomberg investigative reporter Jason Leopold, confirm that the FBI spent $851,344 during the week of March 17, 2025, on overtime pay for 934 agents who collectively worked 14,278 hours on what the agency called the “Epstein Transparency Project 2025.”
Leopold obtained the documents after filing a FOIA request in March 2025, which went unanswered for five months. In August 2025, Leopold and Bloomberg filed a lawsuit against the FBI and Department of Justice to compel the release of “records regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.” The FBI provided the requested materials on November 24, 2025.
The released documents detail a massive mobilization of resources across FBI departments and field offices. A report partially released to Leopold shows that during one March week, hundreds of agents participated in what FBI emails described as “Phase 1 redactions” of the Epstein files.
“The files I shared online are the complete files,” Leopold told fact-checkers in a text message. “They [the FBI] released this just to me in response to my lawsuit and emailed my attorney the records.”
The scale of the operation is further illustrated in records showing that between January and July 2025, the FBI’s Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS) agents worked 4,737 overtime hours, with 3,472 of those hours occurring in March alone.
Internal FBI communications included in the released documents reference training videos posted on a “Transparency Project SharePoint site” that provided instruction on how to use the SharePoint platform and perform redactions using Adobe software. An email dated March 24, 2025, confirmed that “phase 1 redactions” were complete and that “non-IMD project teams can be released,” suggesting the operation involved multiple phases.
The documents neither confirm nor refute circulating claims that the redaction efforts specifically targeted removing former President Donald Trump’s name from the Epstein files, as some social media posts have alleged. Similarly, they do not substantiate claims that the entire sum was spent on “redaction training,” as others have suggested.
What is clear from the records is that FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi oversaw an extensive operation involving nearly a thousand agents working overtime to process, review, and redact information from the Epstein files before their public release.
The FBI’s massive expenditure comes amid ongoing public interest in the Epstein case. The late financier, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, had connections to numerous high-profile individuals, fueling speculation about what information might be contained in the FBI’s files.
Leopold’s original FOIA request specifically sought information about the number of FBI personnel assigned to process the Epstein files, the cost of the effort, the hours worked, and any instructions provided to staff. While the FBI released some of this information, portions of the documents were heavily redacted, with only total figures visible in some cases.
The email exchanges included in the released documents referred to a “clean copy of the redaction list,” confirming that identifying and removing certain information was indeed a primary goal of the project. Agents were also tasked with reviewing video content, according to the files.
This massive redaction effort represents just “Phase 1” of the FBI’s Epstein Transparency Project 2025, suggesting further work—and potentially additional costs—may be forthcoming as the agency continues to process the sensitive case materials for eventual public release.
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
14 Comments
Redacting the Epstein files must have been an enormous undertaking for the FBI. While the high costs are noteworthy, I’m glad to see they devoted substantial resources to handling such a sensitive and high-profile case.
The public’s desire for transparency is understandable, but the FBI clearly felt it was necessary to carefully redact information. Hopefully more details will come to light over time, even if some sensitive details remain protected.
Over $850k in overtime for a single week’s work on Epstein files – that’s a significant expense. Curious to see what other details might emerge as more of the investigation is made public.
The scale of the Epstein case is staggering. Glad to see the FBI dedicating substantial resources, even if the full truth remains elusive for now.
Interesting to see the costs and resources required for the FBI’s Epstein investigation. Wonder if the public will ever get the full story on this high-profile case.
Certainly a lot of effort went into redacting the documents. Transparency around high-profile investigations is important, but also understandable that sensitive information needs to be protected.
The financial costs of the Epstein investigation are staggering. While transparency is important, I understand the need to carefully redact sensitive information. Hopefully more details will emerge over time to shed light on this complex case.
Spending nearly $1 million on overtime for Epstein file redactions underscores the immense resources required. The public deserves answers, but the FBI has to balance that with protecting confidential information.
Wow, over $850k in overtime for Epstein file redactions in just one week – that’s a huge expenditure. I’m curious to see if more details about the investigation will be made public going forward.
The scale of the FBI’s effort is impressive, if costly. Hopefully the public will gain more insight into this high-profile case as time goes on, even if sensitive information needs to remain protected.
A million dollars in overtime for redacting Epstein files seems like a lot, but I suppose the sheer volume of documents required an enormous effort. Hopefully more transparency will come eventually.
The Epstein saga continues to raise more questions than answers. Curious to see if further details will emerge over time as the public pushes for more openness.
Redacting high-profile cases like Epstein’s must be an immense undertaking. While the costs are noteworthy, the FBI likely had good reason to devote substantial resources to ensuring sensitive information was properly handled.
Balancing transparency and privacy is always a challenge in sensitive investigations. Hopefully the public will get a fuller picture of the Epstein case eventually, even if it takes time.