The Government Accountability Office, an independent and nonpartisan investigative watchdog for Congress, has opened a review into how the Justice Department has handled redactions from investigative documents relating to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A bipartisan group of senators had asked the office to review the Justice Department's protocols after numerous instances in which people whose identities should not have been redacted under the terms of the Epstein Files Transparency Act had their identities protected, while the identities of victims whose names should have been redacted were exposed.
“GAO accepts your request as work that is within the scope of its authority,” the office told the senators, who include Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
A spokesperson for the agency confirmed the review, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
"GAO has accepted a congressional request to review DOJ’s processes in reviewing, redacting, and releasing the Epstein files," the spokesperson said. "The first thing GAO does once it has accepted work is determine the full scope of what we will cover and the methodology to be used. At this time, we cannot provide any estimates on a completion date."
The Justice Department's inspector general's office last week announced a separate investigation into the Justice Department's compliance with the Epstein files law, which compelled it to release investigative records related to the Epstein case that would otherwise not be made public.
Merkley’s office said the GAO told the senators that the investigators will “also be in contact with the cognizant Inspector General’s office to ensure that we are not duplicating efforts.”
Merkley praised the GAO's decision in a statement.
“By illegally disregarding the law, the Trump Administration is cruelly denying ‘equal justice under the law’ to all of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims,” he said.
“This independent investigation is an important step in holding this Administration accountable for siding with the rich and powerful to help cover up the abuse of our most vulnerable."
The senators' letter had asked the GAO to review how many people were involved in the review-and-release process, as well as "all guidance, written or otherwise, DOJ or other senior Trump Administration officials provided to those tasked with reviewing and redacting the Epstein files for public release from January 20, 2025 to the present."
It also asked it to look into "specific directives given to those reviewing and redacting these files with respect to possible victims" and "all specific directives given to those reviewing and redacting these files with respect to possible abusers and co-conspirators, including any and all prominent individuals and those identified by DOJ as 'politically exposed persons.'”
It also asked the watchdog to look into any "and all political appointees with a role in the removal process of already published Epstein records from DOJ’s website."
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The objective of the Justice Department inspector general investigation is “to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act,” Deputy Inspector General William M. Blier said last week.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has maintained the Justice Department is in compliance with the law while also acknowledging that it is withholding 3 million files. He has said that most of those are duplicates and that some are being withheld to comply with other parts of the law, including to protect survivors' identities.
The Justice Department has also defended the issues with the redactions, saying they were the result of its efforts to comply with the law in a timely fashion. “We have said in public materials, on the website, and during the press conference that with 3.5 million pages, the teams may have inadvertently redacted individuals or left those unredacted who should have been," a spokesman said this year.
“We have asked the public and the victims to contact us so that we can quickly address any oversight, which we have been doing daily.”
Epstein died in 2019 as he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Federal investigators have said he preyed on over 1,000 women. The only two people to be charged in the U.S. were Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November, following backlash from an unsigned joint FBI-Justice Department memo over the summer that said that they had conducted an “exhaustive” review of files related to the wealthy and politically connected Epstein and did not turn up evidence that could lead to an “investigation against uncharged third parties” and that they would not be releasing more information about the notorious case.
“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 memo said.
