Blanche meets with Epstein accusers after demand from Republican senator
crucial to confirmation
[July 17, 2026]
By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and JOEY CAPPELLETTI
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday with
accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the demand
by a Republican senator whose support is crucial to advancing his
nomination to lead the Justice Department.
Blanche spent about an hour at Justice Department headquarters in
Washington with the group of Epstein accusers, who have criticized the
Trump administration's handling of the disgraced financier's
investigation and a trove of files related to his sex trafficking case.
After the meeting, Blanche told reporters that he encouraged the
accusers to come to the FBI with any information that could help
investigators build cases against additional figures tied to Epstein.
But Blanche acknowledged he couldn't assure them additional prosecutions
could be brought. The Justice Department has repeatedly said it will
investigate further if new information surfaces, but the government
doesn’t currently have evidence to support prosecutions against others
in Epstein's orbit.
“It wasn’t all cordial,” Blanche said of Thursday’s meeting. “Because
there’s something that they want that I don’t think I can give them,
which is some form of justice. And I want to be able to give justice in
the form of prosecutions, and maybe we can do a prosecution at some
point,” Blanche said.
But Blanche added, “I don’t know.”
The political firestorm over Epstein has been a persistent headache for
the Trump administration, which released millions of investigative
documents over the last year in response to right-wing clamoring for
answers about the disgraced financier's crimes and connections to
high-profile people.
One accuser is disappointed in Blanche meeting
One accuser, Dani Bensky, expressed frustration after the meeting,
saying Blanche appeared to treat it as “a mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise
intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”
"He danced around his wording, repeatedly interrupted us and could not
commit to anything that would demonstrate good faith or begin to restore
trust," she said in an emailed statement. She said Blanche offered “no
credible plan to investigate and pursue accountability" beyond Epstein
and Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of luring teenage girls to be
sexually abused by Epstein.
Earlier Thursday, Bensky told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary
Committee 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 Epstein's accusers, saying officials have spoken
with more than 30 representatives of the women over the course of their
sweeping review of the files.
“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 told reporters.
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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee
hearing with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Capitol Hill in
Washington, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Blanche needs key Republican support to get confirmed
The meeting came hours after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said it
needed to happen before Blanche could earn his vote.
Without Tillis’ support, Blanche’s nomination won’t make it through
the Senate Judiciary Committee, which questioned Blanche for hours
Wednesday about the Epstein files as well as the creation of a fund
to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies, a tax immunity deal
for the president and a slew of other issues.
Another Republican, Sen. John Cornyn, has also expressed concern
over the fund and has said he remains undecided about his vote.
Tillis indicated during Blanche’s confirmation hearing Wednesday
that he was leaning toward backing Blanche, who has been leading the
department in an acting capacity since April. But after lawmakers
heard Bensky's testimony, Tillis said he expected a meeting between
victims and Blanche to occur before he’s “willing to vote out of
this committee.”
Tillis later Thursday commended Blanche for holding the meeting,
writing in a social media post, “I appreciate his willingness to
directly engage and listen to them.”
After missteps by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi that enraged
Trump's base, Blanche as deputy attorney general oversaw a massive
review and the release of millions of files related to the
investigation into Epstein. The case has captivated internet sleuths
and conspiracy theorists for years, in part because of Epstein's
connections to other powerful individuals.
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 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.”
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