Amid an indefinite watch for the total launch of the case recordsdata on convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein, some consideration is shifting to a lesser-known — if not invisible — group of federal brokers: The U.S. Division of Justice’s Workplace of Inspector Common.
The Inspector Common’s workplace serves as an inner watchdog for the Justice Division. Its employees function in obscurity in a set of small federal places of work, some in communities removed from Washington, D.C., together with Atlanta, Tucson and Trenton. Its brokers and investigators monitor for fraud, abuse and weaknesses contained in the Justice Division.
In a rising sequence of formal written requests, Epstein survivors, some members of Congress and Washington-based watchdog teams are asking the Inspector Common’s workplace to research if the Justice Division is mishandling its obligation to launch the Epstein recordsdata.
The Trump administration and its Justice Division are below rising scrutiny and stress for his or her dealing with of the Epstein recordsdata.
A federal legislation required the division to launch its data on Epstein by Dec. 19, however authorities legal professionals instructed a decide this week that only one% of the recordsdata have been reviewed and launched thus far. The Justice Division launched hundreds of data on Epstein in a number of tranches final month, however it says it wants extra time to pore by thousands and thousands of further paperwork and redact survivors’ names and different delicate info.
The Inspector Common’s workplace has a coverage of not commenting on — or confirming — requests for investigation. CBS Information has obtained copies of a number of requests for probes.
In a proper request submitted Wednesday, ethics attorneys with the D.C.-based Democracy Defenders Fund requested the Inspector Common to find out if the Justice Division had violated the legislation by redacting info improperly within the recordsdata, failing to justify its redactions or “selectively releasing recordsdata for what look like partisan functions.”
The Democracy Defenders Fund is represented by Norm Eisen, a former Obama administration ethics official who has been vital of Trump.
“Congress has directed that the Division of Justice present solutions. As an alternative, the Division has continued to disclaim, deflect, and delay,” Eisen mentioned.
A gaggle of Senate Democrats and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have additionally requested for a evaluate. In a letter submitted Tuesday, the group mentioned, “A impartial evaluation of its compliance with the statutory disclosure necessities is important.”
One of many senators, Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, instructed CBS Information, “We wish to be certain all of the paperwork are literally being introduced. Following the legislation it is at all times essential to have checks on that.”
Earlier than the Justice Division started releasing the recordsdata final month, a handful of Senate Democrats additionally requested a evaluate to find out whether or not any of the data had been “tampered” with or hid.
The Workplace of Inspector Common has a historical past of engaged on high-profile investigations involving the Justice Division’s dealing with of intercourse crime allegations. In 2021, the workplace made headlines when its evaluate of the FBI’s probe into convicted intercourse offender Larry Nassar, a former U.S. Gymnastics physician, discovered the bureau discovered Nassar had been accused of molesting gymnasts in 2015, however did not act, leaving him free to proceed to focus on victims for months.
The workplace has additionally waded into the Epstein difficulty, finishing up a 2023 investigation into Epstein’s 2019 demise by suicide whereas in federal custody. The probe discovered “negligence, misconduct, and outright job efficiency failures” by Federal Bureau of Prisons employees.
A 2025 semiannual report by the Inspector Common mentioned the workplace obtained greater than 8,000 ideas and allegations in a six-month span in late 2024. Roughly 100 of these allegations led to formal investigations by the workplace. A spokesperson declined to remark to CBS Information concerning the letters submitted looking for new investigations concerning the Epstein recordsdata.
In a sequence of interviews with CBS Information, attorneys for survivors of Epstein’s intercourse offenses mentioned they’ve additionally sought or supported an Inspector Common evaluate of how the Justice Division is dealing with its tasks to handle the recordsdata.
The partial, preliminary launch of Epstein case recordsdata final month revealed that an early 1996 tip to the FBI by Epstein survivor Maria Farmer was not sufficiently pursued. Jennifer Freeman, an legal professional who represents Farmer, instructed CBS Information the Inspector Common’s workplace ought to look into “how this important failure befell.”
She mentioned the workplace must also “look at whether or not all Epstein-related recordsdata have been produced and are correctly redacted, ensuring victim-identifying info is just not disclosed, and people federal staff who failed to handle Maria’s 1996 report are held accountable.”
Florida-based civil legal professional Spencer Kuvin, who represents Epstein survivors, instructed CBS Information victims of Epstein’s offenses “need full transparency and a possibility to speak with the Federal Authorities about what they need, and don’t need, launched.”
“As for what’s launched, true transparency would enable impartial evaluate of redaction choices, so the general public could be assured nothing is being hidden unnecessarily,” Kuvin mentioned. “With out third get together evaluate, the general public won’t ever be capable of have certainty that the Authorities is being trustworthy and complying with the letter of the legislation.”
A Justice Division spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark from CBS Information.
