Republican senator says Blanche must meet Epstein's accusers to earn his vote for attorney general
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican senator whose support will be necessary to advance Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general said Thursday that Blanche must meet with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to earn his vote.
Sen. Thom Tillis' had indicated during Blanche's confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he was leaning toward backing the acting attorney general's nomination. But after an Epstein accuser testified a day later, Tillis said he expects a meeting to occur before he's “willing to vote out of this committee.”
Epstein's case and the Justice Department's handling of millions of files related to his sex trafficking investigation have been a persistent political headache for the Trump administration.
After missteps by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi that enraged Trump's base, Blanche as deputy attorney general oversaw a massive review and release of millions of files related to the investigation into the disgraced financier with connections to wealthy and powerful people.
Shortly after Tillis' remarks, Blanche arrived at a Senate office building, where Blanche told reporters he had hoped to meet with Epstein accusers but “it didn't work out.” Blanche said they were trying to find another time later Thursday or another day to schedule the meeting.
“The Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives, and if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime — whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein or anybody else — we will of course move forward and investigate and prosecute,” Blanche said.
Without Tillis' support, Blanche's nomination won't make it through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which questioned Blanche for hours on Wednesday about the Epstein files as well as the creation of a fund to compensate Trump’s allies, a tax immunity deal for the president and a slew of other issues.
Another Republican on the committee who says he has not made up his mind whether to support Blanche — Sen. John Cornyn — conveyed concerns that the Trump administration has yet to commit in writing that the fund is dead and could therefore conceivably be resurrected.
One Epstein accuser, Dani Bensky, told lawmakers earlier Thursday that women harmed by Epstein repeatedly asked to meet with Blanche “through multiple channels and he never responded."
"We deserve to be heard directly, not dismissed and ignored,” Bensky said.
Blanche has pushed back on suggestions that the Justice Department has been dismissive of the late financier's accusers, saying Wednesday that officials have spoken with more than 30 representatives of the women over the course of its sweeping review of the files.
Blanche has also defended the department's staggered release of the Epstein files, a process beset by problems, including redaction errors that left exposed nude photos showing the faces of potential victims.
Blanche said during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that he takes responsibility for mistakes that were made, but noted that department lawyers were given a "herculean task” to quickly review millions of files for release. Blanche said department lawyers took pains to protect the women involved, and quickly fixed any errors that were found.
“I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents mistakes were made,” Blanche said Wednesday. “But what I will say on top of that is we put tons of resources to rectifying those mistakes immediately, including pulling down documents within minutes of being informed that there were mistakes.”
The political firestorm over the Epstein files dogged the Trump administration for much of last year, with lawmakers eventually passing a measure that compelled the release of a massive trove of documents in the government’s possession related to its investigation.
The Justice Department began releasing the documents in late December, which included photos, call logs, grand jury testimony and interview transcripts. The release did little to tamp down skepticism from conspiracy theorists and online sleuths, who have long pushed allegations of a government cover-up, without evidence.
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