Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / DOJ Under the Microscope: Inspector General Probes the Epstein Files Release (4/24/26)

Transcript

DOJ Under the Microscope: Inspector General Probes the Epstein Files Release (4/24/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

0:00
Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
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Epstein Chronicles. After the announcement that the OIG is going
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to take a look at what happened with the Epstein files,
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they want you to believe that something's finally changed, that
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the long tangled mess surrounding the Epstein files, the delays,
0:19
the contradictions, the missing pieces, the quiet stonewalling is finally
0:24
being taken seriously. The Office of the Inspector General stepping in,
0:29
opening the books, asking questions on paper. It sounds like accountability.
0:34
It sounds like oversight doing what it's always supposed to do.
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But if you've been paying attention, really paying attention, you
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know better than to celebrate just yet, because this is
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the same system investigating itself, the same institutional circle that
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is time and time again close ranks when the heat's
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got too close. It's the same pattern that we've watched
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unfold for years now, promised scrutiny, produce a report, assigned
0:59
blame to systemic failures, and move on without a single
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meaningful consequence reaching the people who actually mattered. The Department
1:07
of Justice didn't just mishandle this case. Once it mishandled,
1:10
it repeatedly across years, across jurisdictions, across administrations, and now
1:16
we're supposed to trust that an internal watchdog, one that's
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been present through every stage of the fiasco, is suddenly
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going to deliver something different. Yo, let's be honest about
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what this moment actually is. It's not a breakthrough. It's
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pressure management. It's an attempt to get ahead of a
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narrative that's spiraling beyond their control because the public has
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seen too much. The contradictions are too blatant. One day
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we're told everything's been released, the next we hear about
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millions of additional documents, names redacted, timelines blurred, responsibility diffused
1:49
into nothing, and through it all the same refrain trust us.
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But the answer is no, that time is over and
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OYG investigation is not nothing. But it's not enough, not
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even close. Not when the stakes involve the case that
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cut across intelligence, finance, politics and power at the highest levels.
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Not when the failures weren't isolated, they were systemic, coordinated,
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and sustained. And certainly not when the very institutions under
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scrutiny are still controlling the flow of information. You don't
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restore trust by investigating yourself behind closed doors. You don't
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rebuild credibility by issuing another carefully worded report that lands
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with a thud and changes nothing, And you definitely don't
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convince a public that's been strung along for years that
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this time, this time, you're serious. The only path forward
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now is independence, real independence, a special council with full authority,
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full autonomy, and zero institutional loyalty to the agencies that
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have already proven they can't or won't please themselves. No
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more half measures, no more internal reviews dressed up as accountability.
3:01
No more games, because that's what this has felt like
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from the very beginning, a game, a slow grinding exercise
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in delay, deflection and damage control. And the longer it
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drags on, the clearer it becomes that the objective was
3:16
never transparency. It was survival. But here's the problem. The
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public isn't playing along anymore. The questions aren't going away,
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the inconsistencies aren't fading, and no amount of internal investigation
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is going to put this back in the box. And
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if anything, it's only going to raise the stakes even higher.
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So today, as the headlines roll in about oversight and
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inquiry and accountability, remember this We've heard it all before,
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and until somebody truly independent steps in, until the walls
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between power and scrutiny are actually torn down, this is injustice.
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It's just another chapter in the same story. Today's article
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is from CBS News and the headline Justice Department watchdog
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launches probe into compliance with the Epstein Files law. This
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article was authored by Jacob Brozen. The Justice Department's internal
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watchdog said Thursday that it will audit the Department's compliance
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with the law that required the release of files related
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to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following months of bipartisan criticism
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over how the agency has handled the disclosure. And they've
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earned every minute of that. I've never seen an institution
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more brazenly ignore the law, especially when we're talking about
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an institution that's supposed to uphold the law. Needless to say,
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the optics are not very good. The Justice Department's Office
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of the Inspector General said in a statement that it
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will evaluate the DOJ's process for identifying, redacting, and releasing
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records in its possession as required by the Epstein Files
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Transparency Act, which President Trump signed up too law last November.
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And look, I wish I could sit here and tell
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you that the OIG is somebody or an office that's
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going to do the right thing. But when it comes
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to Epstein, we've seen it time and time again that
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the OIG is just offering up these whitewash reports. The
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bill required the Justice Department to release all files related
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to Epstein and his co conspirator Glenn Maxwell within thirty
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days of becoming law, a deadline the Department failed to meet.
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Not only that, but they thumb their nose at the
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whole process. What do you mean we have a deadline.
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We're too busy to meet that deadline. We don't have
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enough people working here. We have a shortage of lawyers. Meanwhile,
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the DOJ has a budget that's only surpassed by the military.
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But sure they have no people, They have no help.
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The truth is, it's not about help, it's about willpower.
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And they didn't want to do this. They didn't want
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any of these files to come out. They didn't want
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you to see any of it. They wanted to keep
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it all hidden. That way they could keep their narrative
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going that Epstein was just some loan predator and nobody
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else was involved. That's the whole point, and the reason
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that they're slapping back the way they are and going
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so crazy is because people wouldn't accept their nonsense. But
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the truth is that DJ had plenty of people, They
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had plenty of manpower, they just didn't have the will.
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The watchdog Office said the probe will review the process
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behind the departments identification, collection, and production all of responsive material.
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It will also examine how the department determine what material
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would be redacted or withheld under the law, as well
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as the process for addressing post release publication concerns. The
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statement said that the office will issue a public report
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with the audits results once the review is complete. Yeah, okay,
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what four years later, like we got the other reports.
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I mean, it took them like three and a half
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years to get the OIG report about Epstein's death to
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the public, and then when we finally do get the report,
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it was nothing more than a whitewash. And also keep
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in mind that the OIG can't charge anybody with anything.
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They can only make recommendations to the DOJ to charge people.
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So you see the conundrum. Even if the OIG has
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some kind of damning report, do you really think, especially
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in this administration, that that report's going to see the
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light of day. I have my doubts. The Justice Department
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published an initial batch of files within thirty days of
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the bill being signed, but that release did not encompass
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the full scope a material covered by the statute. Days later,
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the Department released a massive tranch of more than eleven
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thousand files, totaling nearly thirty thousand pages of photos, court records, emails,
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news clippings, videos, and other material. And let's not act
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like the DOJ just complied. All we've heard from the
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DOJ is about how difficult this is for them, about
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how much time it's taking, and about how there's no
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more evidence to charge anybody else or even investigate. Then
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we get to see the files for ourselves, and we
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know that that's a bunch of bs. And it's all
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these little things put together that make this the cover
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up that it is. January thirtieth, then Deputy Attorney General
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Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department was releasing more
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than three million pages of records related to its investigation
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into Epstein and Maxwell its final disclosure, but they still
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have three million more pages that they're sitting on. According
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to him, they're duplicative, or they just don't fall under
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the parameters of what the law requires, which is crazy
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to me because you would think that the most transparent
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administration in history would be interested in being, you know, transparent.
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Blanche said. The Trump administration collected more than six million
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pages in response to the Epstein related law, but withheld
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a portion of them for various reasons, including because they
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contain survivors personal information, or would jeopardize an active federal investigation.
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What investigation. I thought there were no more investigations. I
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thought there was no one to investigate. You know, who
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needs to be investigated the investigators. That's who needs to
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be investigated, and not by the OIG, by an independent
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special counsel who answers to nobody but the American people
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and the Constitution. Is that too much to ask for?
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I guess it is. I can assure you that we
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complied with the statute, we complied with the Act, and
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did not protect President Trump. We didn't protect or not
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protect anybody, Blanche said at a news conference announcing the
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final release. There's a hunger or a thirst for information
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that I do not think will be satisfied by the
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review of these documents. There's nothing I can do about that.
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You're a liar, Yes, there is. Why is the NPA
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still standing? Todd Blanche could get rid of that tomorrow.
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But for that to happen, Todd Blanche would have to
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to care about justice and not be an absolute liar.
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Blanche has since been elevated to Acting Attorney General after
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the departure of Pam Bondy. In an interview with Fox
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News after he was elevated to his new role, Blanche
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said that the Epstein files should not be part of
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anything going forward at the Justice Department. Yeah, the Justice
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Department worries about the DOW. Now, remember Pam Bondy told
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us all about the DOO and how we should care
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about it more than Epstein. I guess Todd Baby Billy
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Blanche is on the same path. A CBS News analysis
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found that the Justice Department removed tens of thousands of
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files after they were initially published, leaving the number of
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public documents at two point seven million pages as of
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late February. The review found that the Justice Department had
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taken down more than forty seven thousand files comprising about
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sixty five thousand, five hundred pages. Links to those files
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now return a page not found or on the department's website. Yeah, oh, well,
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we found some personal information. What they don't tell you
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is that personal information was about one of Jeffrey's co conspirators,
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and god forbid they embarrass them. The rolling release and
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repeated publishing and unpublishing of documents left survivors and members
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of Congress alike calling for an independent review of the
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Department's handling of the files. Well, if we're looking for
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an independent review, the OIG is not it. The two
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lawmakers who led the push to pass the Epstein File
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Transparency Act, Democratic Representative Rocana and Republican Representative Thomas Massey,
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have also pushed for an independent review. In December twenty
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twenty five, a letter to the Justice Departments Inspector General.
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Epstein's survivors and a group of Democrats in Congress asked
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the watchdog's office to independently review the files to determine
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whether any of the records were tampered with. On Tuesday,
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President Trump nominated a career government attorney, Don Bertha, to
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serve as the Justice Department's next Inspector General. Berth. Hume
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had been serving as the department's acting watchdog since late
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last year. Look, I have my doubts about the OIG
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and their investigation and what they're going to do as
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far as that investigation goes, and how deep they'll dig,
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because history has shown us that the OIG is neutered
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and that the OIG really doesn't have the power to
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do what needs to be done, especially in a situation
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like this. So, like usual, we'll keep an eye on
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things and when we have some more information to share,
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we'll get it added to the catalog. All the information
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that goes with this episode can be found in the
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description box.