Last week, just 12 days into his tenure as the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche sat down with Fox News and was asked whether he has the authority to release more materials from the Jeffrey Epstein files. The Republican lawyer pushed back against the premise of the question.
“No, we have released everything,” Blanche replied, adding, “We are not sitting on a single piece of paper, nothing that should be released.” As the exchange continued, the acting attorney general concluded, “If we didn’t release it, it’s because it was not responsive to the law.”
The law he referred to is the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which unexpectedly cleared Congress in November. Whether Blanche and his colleagues have fully complied with the statutory requirements, however, has been the subject of great debate.
Many congressional Democrats have appealed to the Justice Department’s internal watchdog to examine the department’s handling of the files and its responsiveness to the law, and it now appears they will get their wish. CNBC reported:
The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog said on Thursday that it is investigating the DOJ’s compliance with a law requiring the full disclosure of department files about the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The audit by the Office of the Inspector General comes after months of complaints that the DOJ has failed to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act by withholding many files in its possession about Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Deputy Inspector General William Blier said in a written statement, “Our preliminary objective is to evaluate the DOJ’s processes for identifying, redacting, and releasing records in its possession as required by the Act.”
“If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider addressing other issues that may arise during the course of the audit,” Blier said.
The OIG “will issue a public report with the audit’s results when our work is complete,” he concluded.
Republican officials, especially in the White House, have made it abundantly clear that they’re desperate to see the Epstein scandal fade from the news, especially as the midterm elections draw closer. The inspector general’s new investigation suggests, however, that scrutiny into the administration’s handling of the matter is going to last a while longer.
The post DOJ inspector general to review compliance with Epstein Files Transparency Act appeared first on MS NOW.
