A bipartisan group ofsenatorson Wednesday called on theGovernment Accountability Officeto investigate theDepartment of Justice's release and redactions of documents related to disgraced sex offenderJeffrey Epstein.

The letter, signed by Sens.Dick Durbin, D-Ill.,Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.,Jeff Merkley,D-Ore.,Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, alleges the DOJ did not comply with a law that aimed to compel the release of the Epstein files while protecting victims.

"Contrary to Congress's explicit directive to protect victims, these records included email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of publicly-identified and non-public victims could be identified," the lawmakers wrote. "But when it came to information identifying powerful business and political figures who are alleged coconspirators or material witnesses, DOJ appears to have heavily redacted those records."

The GAO is an independent, non-partisan legislative branch agency with authority to audit and investigate the federal government.

The DOJ has been repeatedly criticized for withholding parts of the Epstein files from the public in violation of theEpstein Files Transparency Act, which PresidentDonald Trumpsigned in November after months of opposition. That law mandated the full release of documents by Dec. 19.

While theDOJ has releasedmillions of documents to date, it blew past the December deadline and many more Epstein files entries have not yet been made public, prompting outcry from both Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have called for theDOJ's Inspector Generalto investigate the department's handling of the Epstein files. The House Oversight Committee last weekvoted to subpoenaAttorney GeneralPam Bondias part of its probe into Epstein, who died in 2019.

The letter asks Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown to review the "protocols and practices" the DOJ used for the review, redaction and release of the Epstein files and to report back to Congress. It specifically asks the GAO to investigate whether the release of the "files has served to cover up child sexual abuse."

"This horrific scandal is one where powerful, wealthy men groomed, abused, and raped young women, men, and children," the senators wrote "It is critical to understand what led to DOJ's failure to redact the victims' information and re-victimize those individuals while violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act in its redactions of information related to their alleged abusers."

Source: Drudge Report