Victims of the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged from a long-awaited meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday, with some describing the discussion as a meaningful first step while others dismissed it as a political exercise tied to Blanche’s Senate confirmation fight.
The meeting was the result of conditions set forth by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who said he would only advance Blanche’s nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee if he met with Epstein victims. Tillis’s backing is viewed as critical to getting Blanche’s confirmation over the finish line.
According to the Justice Department, Blanche met with several Epstein survivors alongside senior department officials, FBI agents, and victim services representatives. Afterward, Blanche told reporters he encouraged anyone with additional information to provide it to the FBI, saying investigators remained willing to review new evidence.
The meeting, however, drew sharply different reactions from participants.
Dani Bensky, whose personal information was mistakenly leaked during the release of the Epstein files, said the discussion felt more like a procedural requirement than a genuine attempt to advance the investigation. She accused Blanche of using the meeting as “a mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”
Benskey said Blanche offered no concrete plan to pursue additional prosecutions or answer long-standing questions surrounding the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein case. She added that Blanche “danced around his wording, repeatedly interrupted us.”
Another woman who has accused Epstein of sexual abuse, Annie Farmer, said the meeting solidified her urging senators to reject Blanche’s nomination, describing him as “abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal to survivors.”
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The meeting capped days of scrutiny over Blanche’s handling of the Epstein files during his confirmation hearing. Lawmakers from both parties questioned him about the DOJ’s release of the files earlier this year, including redaction errors that exposed identifying information about some victims. Blanche apologized for the mistakes during his testimony, saying the department moved quickly to correct them and accepted responsibility for the errors.
Prior to his confirmation hearings, survivors of convicted Epstein sent written statements to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing Blanche’s nomination to take on the role permanently, citing what they see as his mishandling of files related to the investigation of Epstein’s crimes.