A group of survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including several who met last week with attorney general nominee Todd Blanche over the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files and related investigations, urged two Republican senators to vote against confirming him in a letter Tuesday.
The survivors told Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas — both of whom grilled Blanche over his handling of the files during his marathon confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee — that their meeting with Blanche amounted to “an hour of deflection, interruption, and gaslighting.”
Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term following condemnation from President Donald Trump for inadequate loyalty, said he would not advance Blanche’s nomination to serve permanently as head of the DOJ unless he agreed to meet with Epstein survivors. Victims of Epstein’s abuse have been vocal in their dissatisfaction over how the agency handled its Epstein investigation and its subsequent release of the related files, which publicly identified swaths of survivors against their will.
At Tillis’ urging, Blanche met on July 16 with survivors, who later blasted his behavior in the long-awaited meeting as “condescending.” In the Tuesday letter, victims told Tillis specifically they understood that his intention was for them to have a “serious and meaningful” conversation with Blanche but that what transpired was “a box-checking exercise arranged only after his confirmation was put at risk.”
“Blanche’s willingness to sit in a room with us should not matter more than how he treated us once he was there,” the survivors wrote.
Following his testimony, in response to questions for the record from lawmakers, Blanche maintained he participated in two meetings with “victims of Jeffrey Epstein or their counsel, or both,” including the meeting Friday referenced by the survivors in their letter.
“I remain committed to engaging with victims of Jeffrey Epstein through appropriate legal channels,” Blanche said in response to questions from Tillis and Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Blanche also noted that his newly appointed national coordinator for child exploitation and human trafficking, Alessandra Serrano, “is available to meet with any victim and their counsel” and “provided her contact information to any victim or their counsel who requested it at the meeting.”
But Blanche’s other written responses to the committee’s questions, which were publicly released this week, could further frustrate survivors. Responding to questions about documents that mention Trump, Blanche replied that the DOJ has produced “all known responsive records under the EFTA,” referring to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law that compelled the release Epstein-related documents in the department’s possession.
Blanche’s position has been challenged by members of Congress, survivors and at least one federal court in an ongoing dispute.
The signatories to the letter included survivors who have publicly advocated for accountability from the DOJ over the files. Dani Bensky, a survivor who delivered emotional testimony to lawmakers during Blanche’s confirmation hearing, was among them. Annie Farmer, one of four survivors who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 criminal trial, also signed the letter, alongside Lisa Phillips, Liz Stein, Lara Blume McGee, Jess Michaels, Sharlene Rochard, Marina Lacerda and six Jane Does.
“Todd Blanche and this DOJ have shown nothing but disregard and contempt for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. The document roll-out has been a disaster at best and the survivors have had enough. Anyone involved in such a gross display of incompetence and fealty to Trump does not deserve to be Attorney General of the United States. I stand with the survivors,” Arick Fudali, an attorney who represents a survivor who signed the letter, told MS NOW on Tuesday.
The post Epstein survivors urge Republican senators to vote against attorney general nominee appeared first on MS NOW.
