Blanche faces resistance at confirmation

Meeting Epstein accusers a stipulation for approval

By: Aysha Bagchi
Erin Mansfield
and Bart Jansen
USA Today

..... President Donald Trump's pick for the highest law enforcement position in the nation might not be able to confirmed for his job until he meets with women who say Jeffrey Epstein abused them.
..... Senator Thom Tillis, R-North Carlina, said July 16 [2026] that he would not support Todd Blanche as attorney general until he meets with accusers who say they have tried for months to do so.
..... Blanche said on July 15, [2026] the first day of his two-day confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, that he was "prohibited" from meeting with accuser who have lawyers.
..... Since the July 11 [2026] death of Serrano Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, Republicans have just an 11-10 margin on the committee. If Democrats unify against Blanche's nomination, Tillis' pledge effectively holds it up.
..... "I'm trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes," Tillis said.
..... The vote of Senator John Cornyn of Texas, another key Republican on the committee, also remained a question mark. After Tillis made his opinion known on Blanche meeting with accusers, Cornyn told reporters, "I think it would be good to do that, yeah."
..... Both senators recently lost primaries against Trump-backed opponents.
.... Dani Bensky, one of Epstein's accusers, broken down in tears before the panel and personal information appeared, unreacted, in multiple batches of the Epstein files that the Department of Justice released. At the time, Blanche, who was previously Trump's personal lawyer and is now acting AG, was a high-ranking official in the department.
..... "These documents contain disturbing yet incomplete accounts of my abuse," Bensky said. "They were available not only for the entire world to see but my child, my students, my friends, my employees, my colleagues and my family. It was humiliating."
..... Worse, "there were hundreds of victims that were outed," she said.
..... Shortly before Bensky's testimony, several women in the crowd behind her stood up with pictures of themselves as children to show the senators their age at the time they say Epstein abused them. The family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the most outspoken Epstein accuser before her 2025 death, also attended, and said in a statement to the committee that they were "strongly" opposed to confirming Blanche.
..... The first day of the hearing addressed both the incomplete Epstein file redactions and the lack of meetings between the DOJ and Epstein;s accusers.
.... Senate Judiciary Committee Chair chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, began the July 15 [2026] session by voicing enthusiasm for Blanche, defending the DOJ's record under him for capturing fugitives on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list and arresting people tied to the illegal fentanyl trade.
..... "For those who care to judge firmly and fairly, it's a record of success," Grassley said.
..... But panel Democrats were having none of it. Senator Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, accused Blanche of failing Epstein accusers, saying there are more than the alleged 1,200 victims but only two people have been prosecuted - Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. He noted that while Blanche had not met with alleged victims, he had interviewed Maxwell in prison, after which she was transferred to a less restrictive facility.
..... Booker said Blanche's claim that he couldn't meet with accusers was "utter nonsense," adding that as a lawyer, Blanche knew the women's lawyers could come, or accusers could waive their right to have their lawyers present.
..... Blanche said under oath that there were no more Epstein files to be released. another 3 million pages "were just nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein or the case at all," he said.
..... Asked by Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, if he was willing to apologize to Epstein's potential victims, Blanche initially said he was sorry about, any abuse they suffered. when pressed further for an apology for his department's redaction errors, Blanche offered one - but still qualified it.
..... "I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents, mistakes were made," Blanche said. "But what I will say on top of that is we put tons of resources to rectifying those mistakes immediately."
..... Bensky contradicted that the following day. She said the Department of Justice did not remove her information from the public database of Epstein files until April, [2026] and that some women's information is still available Online.
..... Blanche was also hit with accusations July 15 [2026] that he has abused his power by prosecuting the president's opponents and attempting to clear the president of responsibility for any unpaid taxes.
..... "You take an oath to the constitution, not to the president. But you have treated DOJ like President Trump's personal law firm," Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Blanche in an opening statement.
..... Since becoming acting attorney general in early April, [2026] Blanche has overseen a new prosecution of Trump's former FBI chief, James Comey, and defended the department's attempt to cerate a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponizaiotn fund" that could have paid those who were convicted in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
..... The fund was created as part of a settlement to end a Trump family lawsuit against the IRS. amid bipartisan backlash, Blanche backed off on the fund, saying he wouldn't move forward with it. A federal judge then rejected the settlement altogether.
..... Coynyn seemed the most willing among the committee's Republican to critique Blanche's record. He pressed Blanche on why there has been no written confirmation that the "anti-weaponization" fund is dead.
..... "I'm under oath today. [07/15/2026] I've said it's dead repeatedly," Blanche said. "I'll say it as many times as necessary."
..... Durbin tackled another side of the question of punishment for the Capitol rioters, asking Blanche whether Trump was in the right when he pardoned about 1,000 people charged in the attack.
.... Blanche said the Constitution gives Trump "the full power to pardon anyone for any reason he wants."
..... "I don't question President Trump's authority or his decisions to do so," Blanche said.

..... Contributing: Zachary Schermele, USA Today

HOME