Congress’ independent watchdog plans to open an investigation into the Department of Justice’s handling of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.
Merkley announced the opening of the probe on Tuesday, a little over a month after he and Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., requested the Government Accountability Office do so.
″“By illegally disregarding the law, the Trump Administration is cruelly denying ‘equal justice under the law’ to all of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims,” Merkley said in a statement. “This independent investigation is an important step in holding this Administration accountable for siding with the rich and powerful to help cover up the abuse of our most vulnerable.”
Merkley is the senator who introduced the Senate version of legislation that last year became law and compelled the release of the Epstein files.
In a letter sent to the GAO in March, Merkley and the other lawmakers alleged the DOJ did not comply with the law’s directive to protect victims while releasing the Epstein files. Instead, the lawmakers argued, the DOJ heavily redacted the names of powerful business and elected officials who appear in the files.
