Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has offered an apology for what he described as 'mistakes' in the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, as he underwent a rigorous confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill this week. Blanche, who is seeking a permanent appointment to lead America's top law enforcement agency, faced intense scrutiny from senators on both sides of the political divide regarding the Justice Department's release of documents related to the late convicted sex offender.
The controversy surrounding the Epstein files has been a significant challenge for the Justice Department since President Donald Trump's return to office. Congress had mandated the release of millions of documents following public outcry, but the slow pace and extensive redactions have drawn considerable criticism from lawmakers and survivors. During the hearing, approximately a dozen women, protesting the redactions, attended wearing T-shirts featuring images of the obscured files.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley questioned Blanche on 'problematic redactions,' 'insufficient effort' in following investigative leads, and the department's 'refusal to meet with victims.' Concerns were also raised about the transfer of Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, to a lower-security prison. Blanche acknowledged the immense scale of the task, stating that redacting and releasing six million pages within a short timeframe was a 'Herculean' effort. He admitted that 'approximately 1% of the redactions had to be fixed,' leading to the apology for the errors.
Beyond the Epstein files, Blanche was also pressed on his personal relationship with President Trump, for whom he served as a personal attorney in several major criminal cases, including the New York trial. Senator John Kennedy asked if he was 'friends' with Trump, to which Blanche responded, 'I'm his lawyer - was his lawyer... I'm not sure there's very many people who have ever had a criminal defence attorney who calls that person their friend.'
Another significant point of contention was a controversial settlement between Trump, his businesses, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which a federal judge nullified just days before the hearing. The deal included immunity from future audits and the creation of a $1.7 billion (£1.2 billion) 'anti-weaponisation fund.' Blanche reassured senators that he was 'confident it will not' continue, confirming the fund's demise following bipartisan outrage.