Trump DOJ Under Investigation for How It Handled Epstein Files

The Department of Justice is auditing itself over the chaotic rollout of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was pushed through Congress by an eclectic bipartisan group even after Donald Trump dismissed it as a “hoax,” made millions of government files on the convicted sex trafficker publically available.But the slow, sloppy, and still incomplete rollout of the files led to serious questions about what the hell the Department of Justice was doing under then–Attorney General Pam Bondi. The DOJ continues to face accusations it is covering up evidence of Trump’s involvement with Epstein. Now the department’s Inspector General’s Office is looking into the matter, particularly “how the department collected, reviewed and redacted materials in preparation for their release.”The first issue relating to the rollout of the files is that the DOJ blew past the 30-day deadline it was given by Congress in November, claiming it needed more time as it had coincidentally discovered more records.Bondi was also caught lying about the files. She bragged to Fox News in February 2025 that Epstein’s client list was “on her desk”—only for the DOJ to backtrack months later and say the list never existed. In January, the department released approximately three million files. Great—except nearly 100 victims’ names and nude pictures were mistakenly left visible, while information that might have actually led to some justice being done was redacted. The DOJ withdrew thousands of the files, vaguely blaming the mistake on “technical or human error.” (When an individual releases dozens of nude photos of someone without consent, they go to jail. When Trump’s DOJ does it, no one is even fired!)The aftermath of the rollout has also been frustrating. No one has been arrested in the U.S. for involvement in Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, even with all the documents outlining his crimes as potential evidence. There are also 2.5 million files that have not yet been released, meaning tons of information about Epstein’s circle is still being withheld from the public. In a perfect world, this audit would determine what went wrong and be the first step to a full release of the files. But the fact that the review is coming from inside the DOJ gives one little hope that anything will change within the department. Trump has also fired or demoted over 20 inspectors general during his second term, greatly limiting who is able to watch over his corrupt government.