A bipartisan coalition of senators has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate how the Justice Department handled the release and redaction of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, escalating congressional concerns over whether the department complied with a law signed by President Donald Trump.
The group, which includes Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), requested in a letter to acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown that the GAO examine how the department reviewed and redacted the files, the number of personnel assigned to the work, and any guidance provided by the administration.
The senators noted that released records included email addresses and nude photos that could identify victims. They also stated that the Justice Department heavily redacted information about powerful business and political figures alleged to be co-conspirators or material witnesses.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed on November 19, 2025, mandates the attorney general to release Justice Department records related to Epstein. The department has published over three million pages as of January 30, 2026, with a total of nearly 3.5 million pages.
The Justice Department faces criticism from Democrats and some Republicans regarding the completeness and redaction of the records. Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 24-19 to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi, with five Republicans joining Democrats.
Bondi defended the department’s actions last month, stating that “this administration released over three million pages of documents… Donald Trump signed that law to release all of those documents.”
