DOJ watchdog to review department’s compliance with Epstein files law

The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General says it will audit the department’s compliance with a law mandating the public release of the Epstein files.

The audit, initiated by the acting official running the office, comes amid complaints on both sides of the aisle that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has failed to fully release the files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and improperly concealed the identities of some named in the files.

“The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is initiating an audit of DOJ’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act,” it said.

OIG will look at how DOJ set guidelines for sifting through the 6 million files, the directives it gave staffers over what could be held back or redacted and how DOJ addressed “post-release publication concerns,” including revealing the names of victims who were slated to be redacted under the law.

“If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider addressing other issues that may arise during the course of the audit,” a statement from the office said.

The Hill has reached out to DOJ for comment.

The Justice Department has been trailed by questions over the extent it’s followed the law. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche previously said just over 3 million files have been publicly posted, and DOJ has told lawmakers the rest of the 6 million are duplicates.

Lawmakers have argued they must release all the files.

Even after saying they had released their last tranche of records, DOJ later published more following reporting indicating the department had failed to release all records from an interview with someone who accused President Trump of a violent encounter when she was a minor. Following that release, various outlets reported about 30 pages from her account were still missing.

The department has also taken heat over redactions in the files, both those that failed to cover the names of Epstein victims and others that shielded the identities of those communicating with the deceased financier.

After being permitted to review unredacted files within a DOJ office, lawmakers complained many of the files were still redacted, something the department said was the condition they arrived in.

At their exit, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the sponsors of the law, said they saw the names of six men who were “likely incriminated” among the redacted files.

Khanna later took to the House floor to reveal the names of six individuals. 

In her last appearance before Congress before being fired, Bondi defended the department’s handling of the files.

“We were given 30 days to review and redact and unredact millions of pages of documents. Our error rate is very low,” she said.

Updated at 12:59 p.m. EDT

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