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

Source: The Independent

Thursday 16 July 2026 21:48 EDT


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.

“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.”

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/epstein-survivor-todd-blanche-attorney-general-b3016540.html