Todd Blanche faced mounting criticism after Jeffrey Epstein survivors and victims’ family members said a long-awaited meeting with the acting attorney general on Thursday, July 16, failed to provide meaningful answers about the Justice Department’s handling of the case. The meeting had been arranged after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis made it a condition for supporting Blanche’s nomination to become attorney general.
Meeting with Jeffrey Epstein survivors became key to Todd Blanche’s confirmation
Blanche’s meeting with survivors followed pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during his Senate confirmation hearing. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, had said he would not support advancing Blanche’s nomination until he met with women who say they were abused by Epstein. “I’m trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes,” Tillis said, adding that Blanche could arrange the meeting “over the next two weeks.”
Tillis: "I have a positive disposition to Mr Blanche. I have not made a final decision. But he said yesterday he would meet with the Epstein victims today if it could be arranged … I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote. I'm trying to get to yes, but this is… pic.twitter.com/La4fPK4DAx
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 16, 2026
The demand carried significant weight because Republicans hold only a narrow majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee, meaning Blanche needs the support of every Republican member to move his nomination forward. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin also urged Blanche to meet with survivors, saying he “should not get a vote” before doing so.
Survivor says Todd Blanche avoided responsibility during meeting
After the meeting, however, Epstein survivor Annie Farmer said it strengthened her opposition to Blanche’s confirmation. “After meeting with Todd Blanche, I feel even more confident in urging senators to vote against his confirmation as the United States’ attorney general,” Farmer said. “I found him abrasive, condescending and intentionally noncommittal to survivors — a marked contrast to his public testimony during his confirmation hearing.”
Farmer further accused Blanche of criticizing previous administrations while refusing to acknowledge shortcomings within the current Justice Department. “While quick to point to the failures of previous administrations, he refused to take accountability for mistakes made under his own leadership,” she said.
She also criticized Blanche for declining to support an inquiry into why her sister Maria Farmer’s 1996 report about Epstein was not properly investigated, and faulted him for refusing to release internal Justice Department discussions concerning charging decisions, his nine-hour interview with Ghislaine Maxwell and Maxwell’s subsequent transfer to a lower-security prison. “His evasiveness felt like a deliberate attempt to claim the attorney general’s office is powerless in this matter,” Farmer said.
Other survivors voiced similar frustrations with Todd Blanche
Other survivors echoed Farmer’s criticism, saying they left the meeting without the transparency they had hoped for. Liz Stein described the discussion as “demoralizing.”
“I think that we would have been happy that he just offered us something,” Stein said. “But he completely talked around questions. He didn’t give transparent answers. He didn’t give us any promises.”
“He had no real answers for the Ghislaine Maxwell transfer and no real explanation for the improper redactions. We’re victims of crime. And the fact that our DOJ will not take that seriously is beyond concerning not just us, but should be concerning to Americans all across this country,” she added.
Epstein Survivor Liz Stein on Blanche Meeting: It was demoralizing.
I think that we would have been happy that he just offered us something. But he completely talked around questions. He didn't give transparent answers. He didn't give us any promises. He had no real answers for… pic.twitter.com/4LEmMSQdVd
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 16, 2026
‘Felt like he wasn’t willing to work with us’
Sky Roberts, brother of Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent and outspoken survivors of Epstein’s crimes, said the meeting did little to convince survivors that the Justice Department intended to work with them. “It just felt like he wasn’t willing to work with us,” Roberts said on CNN.
Epstein survivor Dani Bensky also questioned the value of the meeting, describing it as neither substantive nor productive. “It just felt like, ‘OK, well, we have a half hour. Air your grievances. Great, I met with survivors,’” she said on CNN.
Epstein Survivor Dani Bensky on Blanche Meeting: It wasn't substantive. It was not productive. It just felt like, okay, well, we have we have a half hour air to grievances. Great. I met with survivors. It's like, that's not what we're asking for. We're asking for investigations.… pic.twitter.com/EkBBgdB1DT
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2026
“That’s not what we’re asking for,” Bensky continued. “We are asking for investigations. … It’s so exhausting to keep saying the same things. America doesn’t want to hear the same things over and over again. We just want action, and we’re not getting any action. … [We felt] like maybe there was a small glimmer of hope, and now we’ve ticked the box and we’re moving on.”
