The Justice Department has removed bulk ZIP downloads from its online Epstein Library, forcing users to access documents one PDF at a time and making large-scale independent review of the records far more difficult.
As of Feb. 6, the department’s “DOJ Disclosures” page no longer displays ZIP files, which previously allowed users to download large batches of compressed documents at once. The site still allows users to search the database, but results are viewable only by opening individual PDFs. With millions of pages in the collection, the change makes comprehensive review a slow, manual process.
Archived captures show bulk downloads were available immediately after the latest release, but not uniformly. A Wayback Machine capture from the evening of Jan. 30 shows “Download all files (zip)” links under the “Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405)” section on the DOJ Disclosures page for Data Sets 1-8 and 11. In that same section, Data Sets 9 and 10 are listed with “View files” links instead of ZIP downloads, which lead to individual PDF documents, one file at a time.
Caroline Hendrie, executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, said such changes can undercut accountability reporting and public trust. She provided the following statement:
When documents of extraordinary public interest are released, agencies should ensure they remain meaningfully accessible and verifiable. The SPJ Code of Ethics states that journalists have “a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government” and to verify information before releasing it. That responsibility becomes far more difficult when bulk access is removed or file availability changes without clear documentation. Such shifts undermine public confidence and hamper journalists’ ability to scrutinize the record.
Michael Morisy, founder and CEO of MuckRock, a public records and government transparency news site, said the DOJ could have reduced confusion by clearly documenting updates and offering stable bulk downloads. “Keeping bulk downloads available that were given version numbers (even just dates) would have gone a long ways, and keeping a note on when things are updated or changed in one easy to check place,” he said.
Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, said in a Feb. 11 phone call that while the archived DOJ page shows ZIP download links, those ZIP files have never been retrievable through Wayback. Graham also said the Internet Archive has so far archived 1,366,140 PDF files from the DOJ Epstein collection.
The Justice Department’s online listings for at least one dataset also appear to have changed over time. On Feb. 10, the DOJ “Data Set 10 Files” page displayed fewer file listings than an earlier Wayback Machine capture of the same page from Jan. 30. Several pages of entries visible in the archived version did not appear on the live page when I checked again Feb. 11.
The changes have practical consequences for verification. Bulk downloads, complete file lists and a way to confirm copies match the government’s posted versions make it easier for independent reviewers to test whether a release is complete and unchanged over time. When access is limited to one file at a time and dataset listings appear to change without clear documentation, those checks become slower and more difficult.
Community archivists have reposted portions of the release via torrents, Internet Archive uploads and GitHub indexes. That can keep the files available when the government site is hard to use. But it also forces journalists and the public to rely on copies reposted by strangers, and without a clear official list of what the DOJ released, it can be difficult to confirm whether those copies are complete or match the government’s originals.
The DOJ did not respond to a media inquiry I submitted via its Office of Public Affairs web form on Feb. 6.
Last Updated on February 13, 2026 by Joe Douglass
