Epstein Survivors Confront Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche Over File Redactions

On the Thursday preceding a Saturday interview, a group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors met with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Survivors said Blanche initially claimed he could not legally meet them, but later agreed after pressure from Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina. The meeting was framed by survivors as a test of Blanche’s suitability for the permanent attorney-general post, which requires Senate confirmation.

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The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated the Justice Department to publish its investigative documents on the convicted sex offender, with redactions to protect victims. In January, the department added roughly three million documents to a public database, a rollout that drew criticism for delays and for what survivors described as insufficient redaction of the “Epstein library” on the DOJ website.

The Hill

Blanche told the House Judiciary Committee that the department had acted quickly to correct redaction errors and acknowledged “there were mistakes that were made.” Senator Tillis characterized the survivors’ meeting as “a very important part of getting to yes” on Blanche’s confirmation vote, indicating Senate support contingent on the engagement.

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Survivors argued the Justice Department failed to safeguard their privacy and accused Blanche of dismissiveness. They described the dialogue as “patronizing” and said they felt “gaslit” when their concerns were repeatedly brushed aside. The group urged the Senate to withhold confirmation until the department’s handling of the files improved.

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• “It felt like we were hitting a brick wall when we were trying to talk with him about — ‘But what about this?’ ‘But why can’t you look at that?'” — Jess Michaels, Survivor

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• “You know, we were giving him information that he could have talked with us about, but we were gaslit, we were skipped over. It was frustrating, to say the least.” — Jess Michaels

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• “And I mean, I think his attempt at empathy and compassion really came off as patronizing and condescending,” — Jess Michaels

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• “disappointed, disturbed and undaunted.” — Jess Michaels

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• “there were mistakes that were made” — Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General (House Judiciary Committee testimony)

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• “a very important part of getting to yes” — Thom Tillis, Senator (regarding the survivors’ meeting)

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