Bipartisan Group of Senators Call for Probe Into DOJ’s Epstein Files’ Redactions

Alex GriffingMar 11th, 2026, 6:21 pm

(AP Photo/John McDonnell)

A group of U.S. senators called for the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Trump Justice Department over its release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the redactions within the documents, which have sparked outrage and accusations of a cover-up.

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) signed the letter alleging that the DOJ did not fully comply with the law compelling the files’ release last December. President Donald Trump signed the law under pressure from both chambers of Congress after it passed with near-unanimous support.

“Contrary to Congress’s explicit directive to protect victims, these records included email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of publicly-identified and non-public victims could be identified,” read the letter, adding:

But when it came to information identifying powerful business and political figures who are alleged coconspirators or material witnesses, DOJ appears to have heavily redacted those records.

“This horrific scandal is one where powerful, wealthy men groomed, abused, and raped young women, men, and children,” the senators continued, adding, “It is critical to understand what led to DOJ’s failure to redact the victims’ information and re-victimize those individuals while violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act in its redactions of information related to their alleged abusers.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) later in the day sent another letter formally asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to “preserve” records related to the release of the Epstein files. “It appears that 37 pages of records still have not been released—including FBI notes associated with agents’ interviews of the accuser,” Whitehouse wrote, referring to reporting that pages related to Trump are still missing from the files.

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