When sifting through the seemingly endless collection of documents in the Epstein files gets to be too much and Ellie Leonard needs a break, she takes a walk outside. Then it's back to the computer. The New Jersey mother of four is among hundreds of citizen-journalists, or sleuths, absorbed by the material connected to the late Jeffrey Epstein. She's determined to learn the stories behind his illicit sex ring and relationships with some of the world's most powerful people, and publish what she finds on Substack. “I like a good puzzle,” Leonard said. “I like an investigation. I like things that we have to solve and looking for clues.” Professional news outlets immediately went to work, sometimes in tandem, when the Justice Department released over three million pages of documents and tens of thousands of visual images on Jan. 30. Hundreds of journalists at The Associated Press, CBS, NBC, MS NOW and CNBC are collaborating to examine the files and share what they find. Dozens of journalists at The New York Times alone are assigned to examine the documents, using artificial intellige