Key facts
- Senator Thom Tillis will not vote to advance Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general unless Blanche meets with Jeffrey Epstein's victims.
- Tillis set a deadline of July 30 for the meeting, the expected date for the Senate Judiciary Committee vote.
- Blanche stated he hoped to meet with Epstein accusers but it did not work out.
- Epstein survivor Dani Bensky testified that Blanche never responded to requests to meet.
- Senator John Cornyn raised concerns about Blanche's handling of settlement agreements and tax-audit immunity for President Trump.
Senator Thom Tillis has stated he will not vote to advance Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general unless Blanche meets with victims of Jeffrey Epstein and their representatives. Tillis set a deadline of July 30, the expected date for the Senate Judiciary Committee's vote on Blanche's nomination.
Blanche, the acting attorney general, has faced scrutiny over the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein files, which led to the exposure of some victims' identities. Dani Bensky, an Epstein survivor, testified that women harmed by Epstein repeatedly asked to meet with Blanche through multiple channels and he never responded. Blanche stated he hoped to meet with accusers but it did not work out, and that the department will investigate and prosecute anyone who committed a crime.
Senator John Cornyn also raised concerns about Blanche's handling of settlement agreements and a $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund that provided tax-audit immunity to President Trump and his associates. Blanche defended the department’s staggered release of the Epstein files, acknowledging mistakes were made in about 1% of documents but that resources were put into rectifying them immediately.