Asked and unanswered
Every documented ask put to a public body in these case files — for records, for an investigation, or a formal recommendation to act — with the figure nobody publishes: how long it has been outstanding, or how little of it has been done.
Why this page exists. A request for records is news on the day it is sent and invisible by day four hundred, so the absence of an answer never accumulates into a fact. Here the count is derived from the clock rather than written down, which means it keeps rising whether or not anyone is looking. “No published response located” is a statement about what is public — never a claim that a body ignored anyone. A private reply would not appear anywhere this board can read, and where a body has declined on the record, it is recorded as a decline rather than as silence.
How long they have been waiting
Every ask on this board with a published date, on one scale. The longest has been outstanding longer than a year.
Scale: 0 to 867 days, linear — a week, a month, a quarter, a year all fall inside it. Bars below about one-and-a-half percent of the axis are drawn at that width so they stay visible; the figure beside each bar is always the measured one.
Not on this scale: U.S. Department of the Treasury — answered — the interval that matters is the one to the response, which this board does not hold a date for.
Not on this scale: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of the Interior, Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Justice, Social Security Administration, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Personnel Management, U.S. Department of Defense, and Office of Management and Budget — measured by how much of the list is still undone, not by elapsed days.
Not on this scale: U.S. Department of Justice — the ask date is not published, so there is no interval to plot.
- 867days2 years, 4 months, 15 daysDeclinedRequest for records
Sen. Ron Wyden, then Chairman, Senate Finance CommitteeBank of America
Sixteen questions about $170 million in payments from Leon Black to Jeffrey Epstein, including whether the bank performed required due diligence and ever sought records substantiating the payments' purpose.
The report records a response specific to this ask: "attorneys for Bank of America indicated they would not cooperate with Senator Wyden's investigation unless subpoenaed", in a reply the report footnotes to 6 May 2024. A conditional refusal is a response of a kind, and it is recorded as one rather than as silence. The report is a ranking member's staff product, not a document adopted by the Committee, and it is cited that way.
- 353days11 months, 19 daysAnsweredRequest for records
House Oversight Committee, ChairmanU.S. Department of the Treasury
Suspicious activity reports and related financial records concerning Jeffrey Epstein, requested by 15 September 2025.
Treasury responded. Contemporaneous reporting on 12 September 2025 quotes a Treasury letter to the Committee saying the Department "plans to fully cooperate with the Committee and intends to provide all information responsive to your request". The limit of this row is worth stating: the letter itself has not been published by Treasury or the Committee, so the response is known to this desk through reporting rather than from the document, and the reporting gives no date for the letter beyond the day it was described. Whether the records were subsequently produced is a separate question this board does not claim to have settled.
- 200days6 months, 19 daysNo published response locatedRequest for records
House Judiciary Committee, Ranking MemberU.S. Department of Justice
Arrangements for Committee members and staff to review the complete unredacted Epstein files, and an answer on whether the applied redactions met the statute's narrow standard.
This desk has located no published response. That is a statement about what is public, not a claim that none was sent — a private reply would not appear anywhere this board can read.
- 114days3 months, 23 daysNow before a courtRequest for records
A journalist, as plaintiffU.S. Department of Justice
Compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act: production of specified records unredacted, or a justification for each withholding.
A preliminary injunction was granted on 25 June 2026. On 6 August the court found the Department's in camera documentation did not comply with its order and set a status hearing for 13 August, which is open to the public by telephone.
- 30still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs: 30 open priority recommendations, led by quality and timeliness of veterans' health care and the department's high-risk acquisition management.
2 of 29 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 96 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified 29 priority recommendations for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Since then, VA has implemented two of those recommendations." Three more were added in May 2026, bringing the total to 30 — a year of work that left the list one longer than it started.
- 38still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services: 38 open priority recommendations, led by Medicare and Medicaid program integrity and public health program oversight.
4 of 35 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 77 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified 35 priority recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Since then, HHS has implemented four of those recommendations. In May 2026, GAO identified an additional seven priority recommendations, bringing the total to 38." This is the largest open priority list on this board.
- 14still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of the Interior
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of the Interior: 14 open priority recommendations, led by oversight of oil and gas activities and strategic workforce planning.
1 of 14 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 77 days ago
GAO records that "as of May 2026, Interior has 137 open recommendations, including 14 priority recommendations. Since our May 2025 letter, Interior implemented one priority recommendation." One further recommendation lost its priority status and two were added, returning the total to 14.
- 14still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeSmall Business Administration
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration: 14 open priority recommendations.
3 of 17 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 72 days ago
GAO's May 2025 letter identified 17 priority recommendations; three have been implemented since. 14 remain open.
- 10still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: 10 open priority recommendations, led by fraud and fragmentation in federal disaster recovery and the financing and availability of manufactured housing.
0 of 9 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 71 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified nine priority recommendations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Since then, HUD has not implemented these recommendations. In June 2026, GAO identified an additional two priority recommendations and removed the priority designation from one recommendation, bringing the total to 10." This is one of two rows on the board where the number implemented over the year is zero.
- 8still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Environmental Protection Agency
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: 8 open priority recommendations.
1 of 9 implemented since the April 2025 letter · asked again 65 days ago
GAO's April 2025 letter identified nine priority recommendations; one has been implemented since. Eight remain open.
- 10still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Labor
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Labor: 10 open priority recommendations, led by protecting sensitive information, unemployment insurance, and worker safety and health protections.
2 of 12 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 64 days ago
GAO records that "as of June 2026, DOL has 101 open recommendations, including 10 priority recommendations. Since our May 2025 letter, DOL has implemented two priority recommendations." The May 2025 letter had identified 12.
- 22still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Transportation
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Transportation: 22 open priority recommendations.
3 of 21 implemented since the June 2025 letter · asked again 57 days ago
GAO's June 2025 letter identified 21 priority recommendations, and GAO records that "since then, DOT has implemented three of those recommendations". 22 remain open, the list having grown as new ones were added.
- 28still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of the Treasury
GAO's priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of the Treasury: 28 open priority recommendations, led by reducing fraud and improper payments, recovering COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance overpayments, and financial-sector cyber risk.
4 of 32 implemented since the August 2025 letter · asked again 57 days ago
GAO records that "in August 2025, GAO identified 32 priority recommendations for the Department of the Treasury. Since then, Treasury has implemented four of those recommendations, bringing the total to 28, as of June 2026." One of the few rows here where the list actually got shorter.
- 18still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Justice
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Attorney General: 18 open priority recommendations, led by protecting national security.
3 of 17 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 57 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified 17 priority recommendations for the Department of Justice (DOJ). Since then, DOJ has implemented three of those recommendations. In June 2026, GAO identified an additional four priority recommendations, bringing the total to 18." This is the same department carrying three separate records requests on this board.
- 4still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeSocial Security Administration
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Commissioner of Social Security: 4 open priority recommendations.
0 of 3 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 57 days ago
GAO's May 2025 letter identified three priority recommendations, none of which has been implemented since. The list now stands at four. It is the shortest on this board, and the second of the two where nothing was implemented over the year.
- 27still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeInternal Revenue Service
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the IRS Commissioner: 27 open priority recommendations, on an agency that collects the federal government's revenue.
1 of 26 implemented since the September 2025 letter · asked again 56 days ago
GAO's September 2025 letter identified 26 priority recommendations. GAO records that since then the IRS "has implemented one of those recommendations", and that two more were added, leaving 27 open. One implemented out of twenty-six in roughly nine months is the figure; GAO reports it without characterising it, and so does this row.
- 10still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Education
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Education: 10 open priority recommendations, led by modernizing the federal student aid system, protecting student data, and financial risk from charter school management organizations.
1 of 8 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 49 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified eight priority recommendations for the Department of Education. Since then, Education has implemented one of those recommendations", with three added in June 2026 for a total of 10. Separate from the servicer-criteria recommendation this board also carries, which the department disagreed with outright.
- 24still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Energy
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Energy: 24 open priority recommendations, spanning nuclear security modernization and programme management.
5 of 30 implemented since the April 2025 letter · asked again 48 days ago
GAO records that "in April 2025, GAO identified 30 priority recommendations for the Department of Energy (DOE). Since then, DOE has implemented 5 of those recommendations by, among other things, directing NNSA Production Modernization programs to follow best practices for schedule development." The total fell to 24, with two more losing their priority designation rather than being implemented — a distinction the count alone would hide.
- 6still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Agriculture
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Agriculture: 6 open priority recommendations.
2 of 5 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 44 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified 5 priority recommendations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since then, USDA has implemented two of those recommendations. In June 2026, GAO identified an additional 3 priority recommendations, bringing the total to 6." The smallest list on this board, and it still grew.
- 11still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeGeneral Services Administration
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Administrator of General Services: 11 open priority recommendations.
2 of 8 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 44 days ago
GAO's May 2025 letter identified eight priority recommendations; two have been implemented since. The list has grown to 11.
- 37days1 month, 6 daysAnswered — and disagreedFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Education
One recommendation: that Federal Student Aid develop and implement formal criteria for determining when to coordinate early with student-loan servicers on program changes, across a $1.6 trillion loan portfolio.
Published 13 July 2026 and publicly released 6 August 2026 — two dates the report carries itself, and the count runs from the earlier one because that is when the recommendation was made.
Education disagreed, saying formal criteria would be "detrimental to the agency and servicers' ability to implement changes in a timely and efficient manner while also being responsive to dynamic administration priorities." GAO did not withdraw it. The recommendation's status on GAO's own page is Open, which is why the row stays: an answer that declines to act leaves the ask standing.
- 6still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeOffice of the Director of National Intelligence
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Director of National Intelligence: 6 open priority recommendations, led by personnel vetting risks and intelligence enterprise management.
1 of 14 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 36 days ago
GAO records that "as of June 2026, ODNI has 44 open recommendations, including 6 priority recommendations. Since our May 2025 letter, ODNI implemented one priority recommendation." The drop from 14 to six is mostly reclassification rather than work completed: GAO removed the priority designation from eight recommendations and added one. The distinction matters, so it is stated rather than left to the arithmetic.
- 39still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Homeland Security
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security: 39 open priority recommendations.
5 of 39 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 30 days ago
GAO records that "in May 2025, GAO identified 39 priority recommendations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since then, DHS has implemented five of these recommendations. GAO also closed two recommendations that were no longer valid. In July 2026, GAO identified an additional seven priority recommendations, bringing the total to 39." The prior count and the current total being identical is not a transcription error: 39 minus five implemented, minus two closed, plus seven newly designated is 39 again. A year of work returned the list to exactly the number it started at.
- 8still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Commerce
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Commerce: 8 open priority recommendations.
1 of 8 implemented since the May 2025 letter · asked again 28 days ago
GAO's May 2025 letter identified eight priority recommendations; one has been implemented since. Eight remain open.
- 8still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeOffice of Personnel Management
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management: 8 open priority recommendations, led by preventing improper payments, IT management, and managing the federal workforce.
3 of 14 implemented since the August 2025 letter · asked again 28 days ago
GAO records that "as of June 2026, OPM has 69 open recommendations, including eight priority recommendations. Since our August 2025 letter, OPM implemented three priority recommendations." The August 2025 letter had identified 14; the priority designation was removed from three more.
- 53still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeU.S. Department of Defense
GAO's annual priority recommendations letter to the Secretary of Defense: 53 recommendations GAO says warrant the department head's personal attention because implementing them could save large sums, improve major decisions, or address mismanagement and fraud.
17 of 79 implemented since the June 2025 letter · asked again 22 days ago
GAO's June 2025 letter identified 79 priority recommendations. Since then the department implemented 17, GAO removed the priority designation from 16, and added seven new ones — leaving 53. That is the largest single reduction on this board, and it is reported because progress belongs on a responsiveness ledger as much as backlog does.
- 15days15 daysNo published response locatedRequest to investigate
Sen. Ron Wyden, Ranking Member, Senate Finance CommitteeU.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Investigations into potential anti-money-laundering violations by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank in their handling of Epstein's accounts, extending to banks that held accounts for his wealthy benefactors.
The instrument matters here: this is a recommendation in section XVIII of a published ranking-member report, not a letter addressed to the three agencies. Nothing has been located from any of them, which at this interval is unremarkable — the row exists so that stops being true silently. Because no letter was sent to a named official, the absence of a reply carries less weight than it would on a records request, and it is scored accordingly.
- 20still openAsked, and still not doneFormal recommendation
Government Accountability OfficeOffice of Management and Budget
GAO's priority recommendations letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget: 20 open priority recommendations at the office that sets management policy for the rest of the federal government.
11 of 37 implemented since the August 2024 letter · asked again 15 days ago
GAO records that "in August 2024, GAO identified 37 priority recommendations for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Since then, OMB has implemented 11 of those recommendations." Seven were added, five lost priority designation and eight were closed as no longer valid, leaving 20. Note the interval: the prior letter is from August 2024, so this is a two-year gap where every other agency here was written to annually.
- —date not publishedNow before a courtRequest for records
New Mexico Department of JusticeU.S. Department of Justice
Unredacted Epstein-related federal investigative files for the state's reopened Zorro Ranch criminal investigation, sought first informally and then through formal Touhy requests.
The initial request's date is not published by the state. Its letter to the acting U.S. Attorney General — dated 30 June 2026, and published by the department on 9 July — states that "more than 130 days have now elapsed since the NMDOJ's initial request", which bounds it to on or before about 1 March 2026. News reporting puts the first request at 13 February 2026 and a formal Touhy submission at 3 May 2026; neither is carried by a document this desk has read, so the bound is reported rather than converted into a date. The state's characterisations of the Department remain in its own voice, not this desk's.
The state says the formal requests were rejected and sued on 5 August 2026 (No. 1:26-cv-02762, D.D.C., Judge Amir H. Ali). The request is now a claim for a court to decide rather than a letter awaiting a reply.