Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s path to becoming the nation’s top law enforcement officer may now hinge on a meeting he had Thursday with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse.
Blanche returned to Capitol Hill Thursday for a second day of his confirmation hearing where Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he won’t vote to advance the nomination until Blanche meets face-to-face with Epstein survivors.
Tillis says he’s “trying to get to yes,” but called the meeting essential before the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the nomination in the coming weeks.
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“Because it seemed to me that Mr. Blanche was willing to say that he would meet with them and counsel — I understand the restriction that counsel has to be present — I expect that meeting to occur before I’m willing to vote out of this committee,” Tillis said. “I’m trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes.”
The issue gained new attention Thursday after Epstein survivor Dani Bensky testified that she and other victims repeatedly asked to meet with Justice Department leaders but never received a meeting.
Blanche meets with survivors
After leaving the hearing, Blanche told reporters he rearranged his schedule to meet with survivors, though an earlier attempt to get together didn’t work out.
“The Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives and if those victims or the representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime, whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein, anybody else that was associated with Jeffrey Epstein or anybody else, we will, of course, move forward and investigate and prosecute,” Blanche told reporters. “So that’s what we’re going to do, I expect that there’ll be a time that works for their representatives, and we’ll go from there.”
That meeting was later held Thursday afternoon at Justice Department headquarters. Blanche met with survivors, their attorneys, FBI agents and victim services representatives for about an hour.
Afterward, the Justice Department called the discussion “productive” and said Blanche encourages anyone with new evidence to come forward.
Survivors left disappointed
Several survivors, however, said the meeting left them feeling disappointed.
Bensky said Blanche “treated the meeting as a mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”
She added, “He danced around his wording, repeatedly interrupted us and could not commit to anything that would demonstrate good faith or begin to restore trust.”
Another survivor, Annie Farmer, urged senators after the meeting to vote against his confirmation.
“I found him abrasive, condescending and intentionally noncommittal to survivors, a marked contrast to his public testimony during his confirmation hearing,” said Annie Farmer.
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