Epstein survivors pan Blanche meeting as dismissive, "demoralizing"
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Dani Bensky (in red) embraces Epstein survivors and family members after she finished testifying on Capitol Hill on July 16. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Multiple survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse said a long-awaited meeting with attorney general nominee Todd Blanche felt more like an obligatory box to check than a substantive conversation.
The big picture: For Blanche, the meeting was a necessary step to unlock a crucial vote for his confirmation to be the nation's chief law enforcement officer. For survivors, it was a historic first in their lengthy trek for justice.
- Blanche met with Epstein's victims on Thursday, after retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) signaled a sit-down with survivors was necessary before he would vote to advance the acting attorney general's nomination to the full Senate.
- A single Republican "no" vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Tillis serves, would halt Blanche's nomination.
What they're saying: Annie Farmer, an accuser of Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell said she found Blanche "abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal to survivors — a marked contrast to his public testimony during his confirmation hearing."
- She alleged in a statement that Blanche's explanations for his interview with Maxwell and her transfer to a minimum security prison camp were "wholly dissatisfactory and contrived."
- Dani Bensky, a survivor who testified against Blanche to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, said in an interview with MS NOW that while she previously felt "a small glimmer of hope," the meeting was not "substantive" or "productive."
- "It had absolutely nothing to do with us," survivor Elizabeth Stein said, echoing her fellow survivors in an interview. "It had everything to do with Blanche checking a box so that he can get a promotion."
- Stein said it was "demoralizing, to say the very least."
The other side: A DOJ spokesperson, however, described the meeting as a "productive, initial discussion" that was attended by Blanche, survivors, senior DOJ officials, FBI special agents and victim services representatives.
- "Acting AG Blanche answered questions and walked through what is needed for investigations to proceed," the spokesperson said in a statement provided to Axios, adding that Blanche encouraged victims to meet with FBI investigators "as the next step."
Catch up quick: "When it comes to the victims of this horrible man, we will never, never, not talk to victims," Blanche said during his confirmation hearing Wednesday.
- But Blanche also said he was "prohibited from meeting directly with" survivors, saying that he and others in the DOJ had met with attorneys representing them.
- But Benksy, who said the DOJ failed to redact her and other survivors' personal information in the released files, alleged during her testimony that Blanche had never responded to victims' requests to meet via multiple channels.
- "Todd Blanche has never attempted to listen to us," she said.
Axios' Josephine Walker contributed to this report.
Go deeper: Epstein survivors criticize DOJ for failure to release all files
