Todd Blanche Epstein file meeting leaves survivors angry
Epstein survivors left a Justice Department meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche feeling betrayed after what they described as a check-the-box session. The Todd Blanche Epstein file review and related accountability questions dominated the tense talk, which came after a senator tied a confirmation vote to the sit-down.
Key Takeaways
- Sen. Thom Tillis pressed Blanche to meet Epstein survivors before a July 30 Judiciary Committee vote.
- Survivor Dani Bensky said Blanche treated the session as a confirmation checkbox and offered no credible accountability plan beyond Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
- Blanche told reporters the meeting was not all cordial and that survivors want a form of justice he is unsure he can deliver.
- Attendees said Blanche claimed he could not personally open an investigation and asked for testimony already given for decades.
- DOJ called the talk a productive initial discussion; survivors called it a performance.
What happened in the Blanche-survivors meeting?
On Thursday, during day two of Blanche’s attorney general confirmation hearings, MS NOW reported that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he was leaning yes but expected Blanche to meet Epstein survivors before the committee vote, expected July 30.
The meeting at DOJ headquarters late Thursday left survivors stunned and angry, according to attendees and representatives who spoke on condition of anonymity. Blanche attended with Alessandra Serano, the national coordinator for child exploitation and trafficking, plus other DOJ and FBI personnel.
Bensky, who had testified that day, said in a statement that Blanche “treated the meeting as a mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.” She said he did not adequately account for the release of materials that exposed survivors’ identifying information and images, and offered no credible plan to investigate beyond Epstein and Maxwell.
Why does the Todd Blanche Epstein file dispute matter?
Survivors argue leads remain in the files and in prior testimony. Sky Roberts, brother of late survivor Virginia Giuffre, asked what Blanche needed to open an investigation. Blanche replied he needed “testimony and evidence,” stunning a room of people who have testified for decades, a representative told MS NOW.
Blanche said about 800 DOJ people reviewed the Epstein files, but when asked if they are still investigating, he said, “We can’t talk about that,” an attendee recalled. After he left, a DOJ official reportedly said reviewers were complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act by seeking redactions, not investigative leads.
For more on odd and high-stakes political flashpoints, see BlasterPost’s Bizarre World coverage.
How did Blanche and DOJ respond?
Blanche told reporters, according to the AP via MS NOW, that the meeting “wasn’t all cordial” because survivors want “some form of justice” he does not think he can give, though he said prosecutions might be possible “at some point” and added, “I don’t know.”
A DOJ spokesperson later told CNBC the department had “a productive, initial discussion,” that Blanche was joined by senior officials, FBI agents, and victim services, and that some attendees spoke with FBI agents afterward about interviews. The department said it is determined to bring justice for trafficking and sex-crime victims.
Survivor Annie Farmer said Blanche would not commit to an inquiry into why her sister Maria Farmer’s 1996 report went uninvestigated, refused to release certain internal charging documents, and gave “wholly dissatisfactory” explanations for his nine-hour interview with Maxwell and her transfer to a less secure facility.
A representative summed up the survivors’ view: “That was not a meeting, that was a performance.” Blanche’s confirmation path remains politically delicate; The Atlantic noted Tillis was leaning yes while pressing DOJ on other conditions, with a committee vote still ahead.