A bipartisan group of Senators on Wednesday called for an audit into the Department of Justice’s handling of the files related to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a letter to DOJ Acting Inspector General Dan Berthiaume, a group of 12 senators said the DOJ had violated a law — dubbed the Epstein Files Transparency Act — that passed Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump in November. The law mandated a full release of the Epstein files with minimal redactions by Dec. 19.
The lawmakers — led by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. — said the DOJ has withheld files, released documents already publicly available and redacted certain releases to the extent that “there are serious questions as to whether the Department is properly applying the limited exceptions for redaction that are permitted under the Act.”
“Given the Administration’s historic hostility to releasing the files, politicization of the Epstein case more broadly, and failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential,” the group wrote.
Inspectors general are independent watchdogs that conduct audits and investigations of federal agencies. The DOJ inspector general is “ideally placed” to conduct an audit because he has full access to the files, the lawmakers wrote.
At the beginning of his second term, Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general across the federal government but spared longtime DOJ watchdog Michael Horowitz, who had been in the role since 2012. Horowitz left the post in June to take on the same role at the Federal Reserve.
Trump tapped Berthiaume to become the DOJ’s internal watchdog in October.
The DOJ has released two major batches of Epstein files since Dec. 19, but the slow trickle of documents has angered lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
In a letter to Congress on Friday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the DOJ would release the files on a “rolling basis” through the end of the year, defying the law’s requirement. In a post to X on Wednesday, the DOJ updated that estimate. adding that over a million more documents potentially related to Epstein had been discovered by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.
“Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks,” the post states.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Monday that he would force the Senate to vote on suing the DOJ for the full release of files. And Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., have threatened to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche in inherent contempt.
“The survivors deserve justice. The DOJ release does not comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and does not provide what the survivors are guaranteed under the new law,” Massie said in a post to X on Monday.
Trump, a former friend of Epstein’s, was largely absent from the DOJ’s initial release of documents last Friday.
The latest batch of files, released Tuesday, include many references to Trump, including an email that suggests Trump traveled often on Epstein’s private plane in the 1990s.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing associated with the disgraced New York financier. On Tuesday, the DOJ said in a post on X that “some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump suggested he was open to declassifying some Epstein files, but has fought for much of this year to keep them under wraps. He has referred to the uproar over the Epstein files as a “hoax” and pressured some House Republican to drop their support for the legislation that would eventually compel their release.
As the Epstein Files Transparency Act seemed poised to advance out of Congress, Trump belatedly gave his blessing to the effort.
“Full transparency—as called for bravely and repeatedly by survivors—is essential in identifying members of our society who enabled and participated in Epstein’s crimes. Survivors deserve full disclosure,” the lawmakers wrote.
Murkowski was the lone Republican to sign the letter, though the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed both chambers with broad bipartisan support.
