Amid an indefinite wait for the full release of the case files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some attention is shifting to a lesser-known — if not invisible — group of federal agents: The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General.   

The Inspector General's office serves as an internal watchdog for the Justice Department. Its staff operate in obscurity in a set of small federal offices, some in communities far from Washington, D.C., including Atlanta, Tucson and Trenton. Its agents and investigators monitor for fraud, abuse and weaknesses inside the Justice Department.

In a growing series of formal written requests, Epstein survivors, some members of Congress and Washington-based watchdog groups are asking the Inspector General's office to investigate if the Justice Department is mishandling its legal responsibility to release the Epstein files.  

The Trump administration and its Justice Department are under increasing scrutiny and pressure for their handling of the Epstein files. 

A federal law required the department to release its records on Epstein by Dec. 19, but government lawyers told a judge this week that only 1% of the files have been reviewed and released so far. The Justice Department released thousands of records on Epstein in several tranches last month, but it says it needs more time to pore through millions of additional documents and redact survivors' names and other sensitive information.

The Inspector General's office has a policy of not commenting on — or confirming — requests for investigation. CBS News has obtained copies of several requests for probes.

In a formal request submitted Wednesday, ethics attorneys with the D.C.-based Democracy Defenders Fund asked the Inspector General to determine if the Justice Department had violated the law by redacting information improperly in the files, failing to justify its redactions or "selectively releasing files for what appear to be partisan purposes."

The Democracy Defenders Fund is represented by Norm Eisen, a former Obama administration ethics official who has been critical of Trump.

"Congress has directed that the Department of Justice provide answers. Instead, the Department has continued to deny, deflect, and delay," Eisen said.

A group of Senate Democrats and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also asked for a review. In a letter submitted Tuesday, the group said, "A neutral assessment of its compliance with the statutory disclosure requirements is essential."

One of the senators, Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, told CBS News, "We want to make sure all the documents are actually being presented. Following the law it's always important to have checks on that."

Before the Justice Department began releasing the files last month, a handful of Senate Democrats also requested a review to determine whether any of the records had been "tampered" with or concealed.

The Office of Inspector General has a history of working on high-profile investigations involving the Justice Department's handling of sex crime allegations. In 2021, the office made headlines when its review of the FBI's probe into convicted sex offender Larry Nassar, a former U.S. Gymnastics doctor, found the bureau learned Nassar had been accused of molesting gymnasts in 2015, but failed to act, leaving him free to continue to target victims for months.

The office has also waded into the Epstein issue, carrying out a 2023 investigation into Epstein's 2019 death by suicide while in federal custody. The probe found "negligence, misconduct, and outright job performance failures" by Federal Bureau of Prisons staff.

A 2025 semiannual report by the Inspector General said the office received more than 8,000 tips and allegations in a six-month span in late 2024. Approximately 100 of those allegations led to formal investigations by the office. A spokesperson declined to comment to CBS News about the letters submitted seeking new investigations about the Epstein files.

In a series of interviews with CBS News, attorneys for survivors of Epstein's sex offenses said they have also sought or supported an Inspector General review of how the Justice Department is handling its responsibilities to manage the files. 

The partial, initial release of Epstein case files last month revealed that an early 1996 tip to the FBI by Epstein survivor Maria Farmer was not sufficiently pursued. Jennifer Freeman, an attorney who represents Farmer, told CBS News the Inspector General's office should look into "how this significant failure took place."

She said the office should also "examine whether all Epstein-related files have been produced and are properly redacted, making sure victim-identifying information is not disclosed, and those federal employees who failed to address Maria's 1996 report are held accountable."

Florida-based civil attorney Spencer Kuvin, who represents Epstein survivors, told CBS News victims of Epstein's offenses "want full transparency and an opportunity to talk with the Federal Government about what they want, and do not want, released."

"As for what is released, true transparency would allow independent review of redaction decisions, so the public can be confident nothing is being hidden unnecessarily," Kuvin said. "Without third-party review, the public will never be able to have certainty that the Government is being honest and complying with the letter of the law."

A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CBS News.