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 offenderJeffrey Epstein.
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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 byThe 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 officelast week announced a separate investigationinto 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."
