Epstein victims blast Trump presidential candidate Todd Branch after meeting

Victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein lashed out at Todd Blanche after meeting with the Justice Department’s acting attorney general, while sit-in Sen. Thom Tillis urged Blanche to seek Senate confirmation as permanent U.S. attorney general.

Victims criticized Blanche for being dismissive and evasive, saying she appeared motivated to speak to them directly Thursday afternoon simply to advance President Donald Trump’s nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

One of the victims, Annie Farmer, said in a statement Thursday night: “After meeting with Todd Blanche, I feel even more confident in urging our senators to vote against his appointment as Attorney General of the United States.”

“I found him aggressive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal toward survivors, a marked contrast to his public testimony at his confirmation hearing,” Farmer said. “While he was quick to point out the failures of the previous administration, he refused to take responsibility for the mistakes made under his leadership.”

But Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said he appreciated Blanche’s participation, which could clear the way for Tillis to vote on the nomination.

Tillis warned earlier Thursday that he would not move forward with his nomination to the full Senate until Blanche met with Epstein’s victims.

“I am hopeful that that meeting will take place before I withdraw my vote from the committee,” Tillis said Thursday morning.

If Tillis or another of the 11 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee votes against Blanche, it could jeopardize her chances of confirmation, as all 10 Democrats on the committee are expected to vote against her. The death of South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham over the weekend created a vacancy on the Republican committee.

If not confirmed by the Senate, Blanche could continue to serve as acting director.

The Justice Department announced Friday morning that Blanche had “productive initial discussions” with a small group of victims.

Some victims have criticized Mr. Blanche and the Justice Department for failing to release documents related to Epstein that contained personally identifying information about survivors and for previously refusing to meet with them.

Branch was appointed attorney general after President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in April over her handling of the Epstein file.

Another Epstein survivor, Liz Stein, called the meeting with Blanche “demoralizing” in an interview with MS NOW’s “The Weeknight.”

“It had nothing to do with us and everything to do with Blanche checking the box to get promoted,” Stein said.

“Unfortunately, Todd Branch treated this meeting as nothing more than a ‘check the box’ exercise aimed at securing votes for his confirmation,” Dani Benski, who testified against Branch’s nomination to the Judiciary Committee earlier Thursday, said in a statement.

“He danced around his language, repeatedly interrupted us, and was unable to promise anything that would show good faith or begin to restore trust,” Bensky said.

Benski criticized Blanche for not adequately explaining why the Justice Department “revealed identifying information and images of victims” in its initial release of the Epstein files.

“And he has presented no credible plan to investigate and hold accountable Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” she said, who is Epstein’s guilty accomplice.

“I hope that Senator Tillis recognizes that this meeting did not go far enough,” Bensky said. “Todd Blanche is not qualified to be Attorney General.”

Amanda Roberts, sister-in-law of Epstein’s late victim Virginia Giuffre, said in an interview with CNN: “I felt like he only took his hand because he was forced to.”

But in a post on X after the meeting, Tillis wrote, “I applaud Todd Blanche for doing what all of his predecessors over the past 20 years never did: meet with the victims of Mr. Epstein’s horrific crimes.”

“I appreciate his willingness to engage directly with them and listen to their stories,” Tillis wrote.

“Acting Attorney General Blanche, senior Justice Department officials, FBI special agents, and victim services representatives met with Epstein’s victims (Thursday) and had initial productive discussions,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in an email to CNBC on Friday.

“Acting AG Blanche answered questions and explained what was needed to move forward with the investigation,” the statement said.

“Although some victims said they did not contact the FBI during this administration, he encouraged them to meet with FBI agents as a next step, and those in attendance spoke with agents after the meeting to schedule a meeting,” the spokesperson said. “The Department of Justice is determined to bring justice to all victims of human trafficking and sex crimes.”

It remains to be seen whether Tillis will vote for Blanche from the Judiciary Committee.

The committee’s Republican member, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, has also separately raised concerns about the Justice Department’s creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund under Mr. Branch.

The fund, which compensates alleged victims of Justice Department prosecutorial overreach, was established as part of a controversial settlement of President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the illegal leaking of tax records by an IRS contractor.

After backlash from Republican senators and others, Blanche told a House subcommittee in June that the fund had disappeared.

But Mr. Tillis, Mr. Cornyn and other critics of the fund have expressed concern that the Trump administration could reinstate it.