Blanche-led DoJ likely to derail Epstein survivors’ pursuit of justice, experts say

Epstein survivors attend Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing. Photograph: Eric Lee/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Epstein survivors attend Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing. Photograph: Eric Lee/Getty Images Blanche-led DoJ likely to derail Epstein survivors’ pursuit of justice, experts say Lawyers predict ‘more suppression and no active investigations’ but victims’ groups determined to continue fight As Donald Trump ’s former defense lawyer Todd Blanche appears poised for confirmation as attorney general, numerous Jeffrey Epstein survivors have sounded the alarm that a US justice department helmed by him would derail their pursuit of justice. In a letter urging Republican senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn to reject his nomination, these survivors said that Blanche’s handling of the Epstein case as acting attorney general was characterized by misstep after misstep. Blanche, who reportedly led the disclosure of documents as required by the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, allowed the disclosure of survivors’ names, photos and identifying information – but omitted the names of accused abusers and enablers, they said. While more than 1,000 teenage girls and women were abused, not a single person other than Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell faced charges, they noted. And in a recent sit-down with survivors at Tillis’s urging, survivors “received an hour of deflection, interruption and gaslighting”, they said. These survivors’ concerns about Blanche by no means exist in a vacuum, and have only fanned the flames of a controversy that has dogged Trump since he again took office. While campaigning, Trump promised to release all Epstein files – playing into his supporters’ belief that there was a global sex-trafficking cabal involving high-profile business and political figures. View image in fullscreen Todd Blanche at his Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month. Photograph: Eric Lee/Getty Images But Trump’s justice department only released dribs and drabs of information until Congress forced its hand following a series of embarrassing disclosures that renewed attention on Trump’s former friendship with Epstein. Trump has denied all wrongdoing including in relation to Epstein. Blanche’s meeting with Maxwell in prison last summer, which was followed by her transfer to a lower-security facility, further heightened outrage over the DoJ’s underwhelming disclosures. The constellation of circumstances has raised the question: what would a Blanche-directed justice department mean for Epstein survivors’ search for justice? Legal veterans told the Guardian that a Blanche-led DoJ would likely derail survivors’ efforts for accountability. Several survivors’ advocates said that all hope was not lost, noting that roadblocks likely under Blanche did not portend a permanent impediment to justice. Bryan Sullivan, a partner with Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae , said that based on what he has read and seen in Blanche’s testimony before the jud