Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have requested that the Department of Justice's Inspector General open an investigation into Attorney General Pam Bondi's failure to release case files on the notorious sex offender in a manner required by law.
"We write as survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to formally request that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conduct a review of the Epstein-related records already released pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act and oversee all future releases to ensure full compliance with U.S. law and basic standards of survivor protection," the survivors wrote to Acting Inspector General Berthiaume on Wednesday. "The manner in which these materials were released reflects serious failures in redaction practices, survivor protection, and oversight. These failures have caused renewed harm to survivors and undermined trust in the institutions responsible for safeguarding sensitive information."
According to the letter, the survivors had observed a "troubling pattern of selective redactions" in the releases thus far.
"Taken together, these failures raise serious questions that warrant independent oversight from OIG," the letter insisted. "We respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough review of the processes that led to this release and oversee the future release of these files."
"We recognize there are a large number of remaining files that must undergo review. This process should respect the urgency mandated by the legislation, but expediency should not compromise essential safeguards for protecting survivors' identities," the survivors added. "Oversight now is essential not only to address the harm already done, but to prevent similar failures in future releases. Transparency should not come at the cost of retraumatizing survivors or exposing them to further harm. Accountability requires that lessons be learned and corrective actions taken."
The survivors have previously joined with Democrats to ask the Inspector General to investigate whether some Epstein files were tampered with.
