Epstein survivors again urge senators not to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general

Two dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's alleged abuse are again urging Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn to vote against confirming Todd Blanche as attorney general. 

In a letter to both senators, the group said that Blanche's recent meeting with Epstein victims was nothing more than "a box-checking exercise arranged only after his confirmation was put at risk."

"Survivors received an hour of deflection, interruption and gaslighting," the letter said. "Todd Blanche showed no remorse for the horrific release of materials that exposed survivors' identities and images. He also gave no indication that he believed there were investigative leads worth pursuing, or that he intended to seek accountability beyond Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell."

Sen. Tillis last week required Blanche to meet with the victims to secure his vote, and Blanche met with them late Thursday at the Department of Justice. Blanche described the meeting as "productive" -- saying he encouraged them to provide any information that could support an investigation -- but acknowledged they conveyed "frustration" with the process. 

"It wasn't all cordial, because there's something that they want that I don't think I can give them, which is some form of justice," Blanche said. "And I want to be able to give justice in the form of prosecutions, but and maybe we could do a prosecution at some point. I don't know." 

Immediately following the meeting, Epstein survivor Annie Farmer said she was "even more confident in urging senators to vote against his confirmation as the United States' Attorney General" and described him as "abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal to survivors." 

In their letter this week, the group of two dozen survivors, including Farmer, argued that the existence of the meeting should not be enough to earn Tillis' vote.

"Blanche's willingness to sit in a room with us should not matter more than how he treated us once he was there," the letter said. 

The letter also said the Department of Justice, under Blanche's leadership, improperly released files including the names and personal identifying information of victims, while allegedly failing to investigate Epstein's associates.

Blanche has acknowledged the redaction errors and denied that any of the materials were withheld to protect Epstein Associates.

"Both of you have records of standing with survivors of human trafficking and sexual assault. A vote to confirm Todd Blanche would be a vote against those survivors," the letter to the senators said.