A bunch of Jeffrey Epstein survivors got here out in opposition to Todd Blanche’s nomination as President Donald Trump’s everlasting attorney general, citing his participation in secret White House conferences on how to comprise the political fallout from the Epstein recordsdata.
In a brand new assertion obtained by NCS, 19 ladies responded to The New York Times’s reporting that Blanche and different senior officers participated in Situation Room conferences to talk about how to reply to rising stress for extra transparency as the problem turned a public relations disaster for the administration.
“We are deeply disturbed to learn that so many senior members of the administration gathered in the Situation Room to discuss the release of the Epstein files as a reputational problem, rather than an opportunity to pursue investigative leads and try to figure out what actually happened,” the survivors of Epstein’s abuse mentioned within the joint assertion. “These revelations confirm our worst fears about the administration prioritizing political expediency over justice for survivors and truth for the American people.”
The survivors raised particular considerations about Blanche, who performed a key function in overseeing the discharge of the Epstein recordsdata after Congress handed a legislation mandating it, who has now been nominated by President Donald Trump to completely function the nation’s high legislation enforcement officer.
“We are especially concerned that Todd Blanche, the person nominated for the highest law enforcement position in the country, was at that table. Blanche has consistently minimized legitimate concerns about how the files have been handled, including problematic redactions and the exposure of survivors’ personal information. Blanche failed to deliver transparency, and he has gravely failed survivors. This is failing upward, plain and simple,” they wrote.
“We deserve better. We deserve truth, transparency, and accountability. We deserve to be taken seriously when we come forward. And we deserve an attorney general who will use the full power of that office to pursue justice, protect others, and ensure that what happened to us never happens again,” the ladies continued.
NCS has reached out to DOJ and the White House for remark.
In a press release to The New York Times, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson mentioned that “by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.”
Earlier this week, House Oversight Chair James Comer advised reporters that he deliberate to ask Blanche to testify in entrance of his committee in July as half of the panel’s ongoing Epstein probe, a sign that even Republicans nonetheless have questions on how the Justice Department has dealt with the Epstein matter.
As the Trump administration continues to cope with the political fallout over how the recordsdata have been launched, the tens of millions of paperwork that have been withheld, and redaction points, former Attorney General Pam Bondi has sought to distance herself from the method and testified behind closed-doors to the panel final month that Blanche was liable for overseeing the discharge of the recordsdata.
“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” Bondi mentioned on the time when requested about her function within the division’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
DOJ has launched roughly 3 million recordsdata compelled by Congress, however Bondi was pushed to clarify why one other roughly 3 million haven’t but been launched.
Earlier this week, Comer met with roughly a dozen Epstein survivors in a personal assembly, sources advised NCS.
A member of the group assembly with Comer advised NCS that survivors felt heard by the chairman. The survivors additionally advised the Kentucky Republican that some of what’s been mentioned by witnesses that his panel has interviewed has been inaccurate and for this reason witnesses must be below oath and recorded.
Many of the individuals testifying as half of the panel’s Epstein investigation have appeared voluntarily, which has meant that they haven’t had to take a proper oath earlier than talking to the panel. Witnesses are reminded in the beginning of their interviews, nonetheless, that making false statements to Congress is topic to prison prosecution.
“We’re continuously meeting with the survivors of Epstein,” Comer, who has mentioned he needs to ultimately maintain a listening to with survivors, advised reporters on Tuesday.
He pointed to latest testimony from Epstein’s longtime assistant for instance of what his committee will want to reality verify with the survivors.
“Chairman Comer’s goal from the start of the Oversight Committee’s investigation has been to provide transparency for the American people and accountability for survivors. We will continue to work with survivors as we conduct our review of the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell cases,” a House Oversight Committee spokeswoman advised NCS.