Federal watchdog says it will review DOJ’s Epstein files release

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) will conduct a review of the Justice Department’s compliance with Congress’s mandate to release the Epstein files, the congressional watchdog confirmed Wednesday.

The review would be the second into DOJ’s handling of the files, with the inspector general at the department launching its own review last week. 

A bipartisan group of lawmakers had asked GAO to conduct the review. 

“GAO has accepted a congressional request to review DOJ’s processes in reviewing, redacting, and releasing the Epstein files. 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, a spokesperson for GAO said in a statement. 

The Washington Post first reported the news. 

The Justice Department has been trailed by questions over the extent it’s followed the law. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche previously said just more than 3 million files have been publicly posted, and the 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, the 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. 

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