Congress's independent auditing arm has launched a formal investigation into how the Justice Department has bungled the release of Jeffrey Epstein case files, opening a second front of scrutiny into redaction errors that have alternately shielded the powerful while exposing victims.
The Government Accountability Office accepted a bipartisan request from four senators to examine the DOJ's redaction protocols under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The review targets what lawmakers describe as a pattern of backwards enforcement: individuals whose names should have remained hidden were protected, while victims whose identities deserved protection were left exposed in released documents.
The senators behind the request include Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, along with Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The GAO confirmed it will examine the DOJ's processes for reviewing, redacting, and releasing the files but declined to estimate when the work might conclude.
The GAO's move arrives less than a week after the DOJ's inspector general announced its own separate probe into the agency's compliance with the transparency law. According to Merkley's office, the two investigations will coordinate to avoid duplicating efforts.
Merkley seized on the development in a sharply worded statement, accusing the Trump administration of illegally circumventing the law to shield the wealthy and connected. "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' formal request asks the GAO to determine how many personnel handled the redaction process and what guidance the DOJ or other Trump administration officials provided from January 20, 2025 onward. It also seeks details on directives given regarding victims and abusers, including prominent individuals and those flagged as politically exposed persons. Investigators will also examine whether any political appointees had a hand in removing previously published Epstein records from the department's website.
The DOJ has not responded to requests for comment about the GAO investigation. The department previously acknowledged that it withholds approximately three million files, attributing most to duplication or to provisions protecting survivor confidentiality. A spokesman also said the redaction errors stemmed from the scale of the project, noting that teams may have inadvertently redacted some individuals who shouldn't have been protected or left unredacted those who should have been. The department asked the public and victims to report oversights so it could correct them.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has maintained that the DOJ complies with the transparency law, though the department continues withholding most of its Epstein files.
The controversy centers on records related to Epstein's sex trafficking operation before his death in prison in 2019. Federal investigators determined he preyed on over 1,000 women, yet only Epstein himself and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell faced charges in the United States. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence.
Congress enacted the Epstein Files Transparency Act last November after the FBI and DOJ issued a joint statement claiming they had conducted an exhaustive review and found no basis to investigate unnamed third parties. That statement effectively ended what many viewed as an incomplete accounting for powerful individuals connected to Epstein's crimes.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Two separate investigations into the same redaction debacle suggests the DOJ's explanation of good-faith execution errors just isn't holding up to serious scrutiny."
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