Epstein survivors accuse ‘condescending’ Todd Blanche of gaslighting in meeting held as part of his AG bid

A survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking operation said that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche behaved in a “condescending” manner during his meeting with her and other survivors. The meeting came as Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) made meeting with Epstein survivors a prerequisite for his vote to confirm Blanche, the deputy attorney general and President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney. Lara Blume McGee described the meeting to The Independent in a text message on Thursday evening. “Today, Epstein survivors confronted Todd Blanche — and he treated it like a perfunctory audition for votes, not accountability,” Blume McGee said. Epstein survivor Lara Blume McGee speaks during a news conference opposing acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation to be attorney general, on Capitol Hill (Reuters)“Blanche was condescending, repeatedly interrupted and tried to gaslight survivors instead of explaining why DOJ released materials that revealed survivors’ identities. He offered no real plan to investigate anyone beyond Epstein and Maxwell and gave no reason to believe the remaining files aren’t vital to exposing other perpetrators and enablers. Todd Blanche is unfit to be attorney general — Senator Thom Tillis and the Senate must vote no.”Despite this, Tillis praised Blanche’s meeting with Epstein survivors. “I commend Todd Blanche for doing what all his predecessors over the last two decades never did: meet with the victims of Jeffery Epstein’s horrific crimes,” Tillis said in a statement. “I appreciate his willingness to directly engage and listen to them.” McGee and other survivors of Epstein came to Blanche’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. They repeatedly criticized how Blanche and the Department of Justice’s management of files related to Epstein, the late convicted sex offender who died in custody in 2019. Dani Bensky, another survivor of Epstein’s, also testified on Thursday arguing against his confirmation.In addition to Blume McGee, Skye and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister-in-law of the late Virginia Giuffre, another of Epstein’s victims, described their meeting with Blanche in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.“There was not a sense of compassion,” Sky Roberts. “Unfortunately, I don't I think there was a lot of deny, deny, deny, until what the formalities of what this was supposed to be.” Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, accused Epstein of trafficking her to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, who she claimed sexually assaulted her. Roberts asked why his sister’s testimony and evidence was not an investigative lead, to which he said Blanche said Mountbatten-Windsor will not cooperate and Giuffre is no longer alive.“It just felt like he wasn’t willing to work with us,” he said. Sen. Thom Tillis made meeting Epstein survivors a condition of his support for Blanche (AP)Roberts said that Blanche was likely only there because Tillis made it a prerequisite for his vote. Tillis, who is retiring at the end of this year, has increasingly criticized the Trump administration and its officials. He and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) are undecided as of now about Blanche’s confirmation. The death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) means that their voting “no” could sink Blanche’s nomination.Blanche became acting attorney general earlier this year after Trump dismissed Pam Bondi from her position partly in response to the Department of Justice’s initially mishandling of the Epstein investigation and then the subsequent release of the Epstein files. Marina Lacerda, another survivor of Epstein, also criticized the meeting and said Blanche only did it to appease Tillis.“I will only say that it was a part of his agenda because of what Senator [T]illis,” Lacerda told The Independent over encrypted chat. “I’ll be looking foward to our next meeting to see what next steps can be taken.”Lacerda said there was “a lot” of “tension and emotions” in the meeting as well. The Independent has asked the Department of Justice for comment.