Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. The way that the Epstein survivors have been
Speaker 1: treated by the DOJ is not only embarrassing, but it's shameful.
Speaker 1: And the fact that Todd Blanche is even up for
Speaker 1: this nomination is unbelievable. But under the circus tent known
Speaker 1: as the Trump administration, I guess all things are possible. Huh, well,
Speaker 1: all things besides Epstein, justice and transparency. Today's article is
Speaker 1: from USA Today and the headline exclusive Epstein accusers say
Speaker 1: Trump's DOJ nominee was dismissive to them. This article was
Speaker 1: authored by Aaron Mansfield. When a group of women who
Speaker 1: identify as survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse found out
Speaker 1: that they could finally meet with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche,
Speaker 1: they hatched a plan. They prepared for a tent but
Speaker 1: businesslike meeting where they tell the Justice Department to pursue
Speaker 1: new leads on Epstein's associates and confront the government on
Speaker 1: disclosing their identities when it published batches of investigative files.
Speaker 1: What we were met with when I recall it in
Speaker 1: my brain, jaw dropping to me. Said Liz Stein, a
Speaker 1: fifty three year old human trafficking specialist from Philadelphia who
Speaker 1: says Epstein abused her. We walked out of there feeling
Speaker 1: emotionally exhausted and really dehumanized. And this is the man
Speaker 1: that's going to be the attorney general. Huh. And when
Speaker 1: I say man, I use that word loosely because no
Speaker 1: real man who had the power to hold people accountable
Speaker 1: for this bullshit wouldn't use that power. So if you
Speaker 1: have the power to do something about it and you
Speaker 1: do nothing, you're not a man. You're a coward. And
Speaker 1: that's certainly, in my opinion, what Todd Blanche is. In
Speaker 1: exclusive interviews with USA Today, three of the women in
Speaker 1: the meeting said that Blanche, President Donald Trump's nominee for
Speaker 1: attorney General, was combative and dismissive, and after they pressed
Speaker 1: him about whether he was familiar with documents the Justice
Speaker 1: Department released, they all came to the same conclusion. Todd
Speaker 1: Blanche hadn't read the Epstein files. Well, no doubt about it.
Speaker 1: You know which ones he read, The ones that might
Speaker 1: be damaging to Donald Trump. Those are the ones he read.
Speaker 1: That's it. This man has no desire of pushing the
Speaker 1: ball across the goal line. Instead, he wants to take
Speaker 1: a knee and run the clock out. The women's comments
Speaker 1: come as blanche nomination hangs in the balance due to
Speaker 1: unrelated concerns about him Senator Tom Tillis and John Cornyn
Speaker 1: to Senate Judiciary Committee. Republicans have stalled his nomination as
Speaker 1: they fight with Trump over the terms of a controversial
Speaker 1: settlement deal with the IRS. A vought to confirm Blanche
Speaker 1: to the top job has been postponed. Imagine being Tom
Speaker 1: Tillis and John Cornyn and carrying on over this, but
Speaker 1: not what happened with Epstein. Now, look, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1: The IRS stuff that's important. We all know that these
Speaker 1: dudes are stealing hand over fist, and we all know
Speaker 1: that the administrations that came before them were doing the
Speaker 1: same thing. But when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, when
Speaker 1: it comes to what's going on at the DOJ, how
Speaker 1: dare Tom Tillis and John Cornyn two dudes that are
Speaker 1: on their way out already turn bitch? When it comes
Speaker 1: to Epstein, Oh, well, we don't want him to get
Speaker 1: nominated because the IRS. But the Epstein stuff, Nah, that's
Speaker 1: on the up and up right, everything's good there. Todd,
Speaker 1: Blanche wasn't involved. Todd Blanche isn't managing a cover up
Speaker 1: as we speak. Tillis told Blanche on July sixteenth that
Speaker 1: he would only vote to confirm him if Blanche met
Speaker 1: with Epstein's accusers, a request that came minutes after Danny
Speaker 1: Bensky testified that she and other Epstein's survivors had been
Speaker 1: trying fruitlessly for a face to face with them. The
Speaker 1: DJ announced the same day that Blanche would meet with them.
Speaker 1: USA Today reached out to the Justice Department multiple times
Speaker 1: regarding details of the July sixteenth meeting. The Justice Department
Speaker 1: referred USA Today to a statement by Alessandra Serrano, the
Speaker 1: Trafficking and Child Exploitation Coordinator. Oh well, let's just pump
Speaker 1: the ball. Let's talk to somebody else. Let's see what
Speaker 1: miss Serrano had to say. Serrano said that Blanche attempted
Speaker 1: to address all the women's questions and that the Justice
Speaker 1: Department is determined to bring justice for all victims of
Speaker 1: human trafficking in sex crimes. Here's what we know about
Speaker 1: how the meeting went. Does anyone believe that that's what
Speaker 1: the Justice Department's plan is and if that's the plan,
Speaker 1: they're not doing a very good job. Benski, a teacher
Speaker 1: from Hawaii, said that the day that she met with
Speaker 1: Blanche July sixteenth was already intense because she also testified
Speaker 1: against him at his confirmation hearing. She said someone from
Speaker 1: the Justice Department first offered her a staff meeting. Later,
Speaker 1: she said that they offered her a meeting with Blanche.
Speaker 1: God forbid, he has, you know, his day messed up,
Speaker 1: and he has to meet with these women. Way too
Speaker 1: busy shining Donald Trump's shoes and glaze in his hog.
Speaker 1: Bensky said that she in a handful of other Epstein's
Speaker 1: survivors who live all over the country attended, so did
Speaker 1: family members of the late Virginia Roberts, the most outspoken
Speaker 1: and well known Epstein's survivor. She said. Blanche brought Serrano,
Speaker 1: other staffers, and another man from the FBI. She said
Speaker 1: the women's lawyers joined via video call. Bensky said Blanche
Speaker 1: responded to the women's questions with defensive, semantic arguments and
Speaker 1: did not commit to investigating any of the leads they
Speaker 1: provided about Epstein's associates. She said the tone of the
Speaker 1: meeting came across as Blanche asking the women to get
Speaker 1: to their point. Sounds about right, good old Todd Blanche
Speaker 1: most powerful lawman in the country, but doesn't have time
Speaker 1: to talk to Epstein's survivors feel like he was acting
Speaker 1: like a defense attorney. Benskey set of Blanche, who previously
Speaker 1: served as Trump's personal lawyer in multiple criminal cases. That
Speaker 1: is at the core of what survivors have been feeling
Speaker 1: is that he will always protect his own and the
Speaker 1: administration's reputational harm. Bingo, that's his goal. That's the job,
Speaker 1: and that's what Blanche signed up for. You want to
Speaker 1: talk about a yes man, you want to talk about
Speaker 1: moving the agenda forward. That's what Blanche's gig is. Whatever
Speaker 1: Trump wants, Blanche is going to try and get it done.
Speaker 1: So Rano from the DOJ said in a statement that
Speaker 1: Blanche was direct with survivors about how the criminal investigation
Speaker 1: process works and what was required to build and pursue
Speaker 1: a criminal case, including meeting with an FBI agent. Man,
Speaker 1: shut the fuck up. What about all of the immigration fraud?
Speaker 1: What about the financial fraud? Let's just start there, Okay,
Speaker 1: Can we get a true accounting of any of that.
Speaker 1: And furthermore, mister Blanche, how can you say there was
Speaker 1: an investigation when nobody that was involved was ever talked to,
Speaker 1: no meetings, nobody being brought in to be interrogated, none
Speaker 1: of it, which is wild considering when I was a
Speaker 1: young man and the FBI was pursuing someone in my family,
Speaker 1: they had no problem trying to talk to me, even
Speaker 1: though I was under age. I wasn't even eighteen at
Speaker 1: the time, and they sure tried to talk to me
Speaker 1: as I was walking down the street coming home from school.
Speaker 1: But Jeffrey Epstein's buddies, God forbid. Maybe if Jeffrey Epstein
Speaker 1: had a valet at the end of his name, it
Speaker 1: would have been different, because I promise you, if you
Speaker 1: have a valet at the end of your name, you
Speaker 1: ain't getting any kind of favorable treatment by the fucking FBI.
Speaker 1: Serrano said that there were FBI agents in the room
Speaker 1: ready to follow up with them on their cases, and
Speaker 1: every survivor in attendance was given direct contact information for
Speaker 1: a senior DOJ leader. Laura Bloom McGee forty seven of Arkansas,
Speaker 1: another survivor who was in the room, said the women
Speaker 1: had already gone to the FAI to report Epstein's conduct.
Speaker 1: She referenced Marie Farmer's nineteen ninety six complaint to the
Speaker 1: FBI alleging that Epstein moved child sexual abuse material from
Speaker 1: Ohio to New York, which he certainly did. And anybody
Speaker 1: who disputes what Maria has to say at this point
Speaker 1: is crazy. The three zero two backs up everything she said.
Speaker 1: She said that Blanche effectively disregarded what they already did.
Speaker 1: He told us to go back to the FBI and
Speaker 1: start all over again, McGee said. And that's because he
Speaker 1: wants to kick the ball down the road. He knows
Speaker 1: that a new investigation takes time, and he knows that
Speaker 1: going after the information we already have that would be
Speaker 1: the shortest path. And God forbid. Remember, it's never been
Speaker 1: about justice, it's never been about transparency. It's always been
Speaker 1: about controlling the blast radius. Both Benski and McGhee described
Speaker 1: an exchange in which members of the group asked Blanche
Speaker 1: whether he had read the Epstein files. They both interpreted
Speaker 1: his answers to indicate that he had never read any
Speaker 1: of the documents of the department he runs published in
Speaker 1: an online database. Well that shouldn't shock anybody. He's an administrator, right,
Speaker 1: He's just signing off on things and giving directions. If
Speaker 1: you think that Todd Blanche, of all people his hands on,
Speaker 1: I feel sorry for you, because you're probably pretty dumb.
Speaker 1: In his former post as Deputy Attorney General, Blanche oversaw
Speaker 1: the release of more than three million files under the
Speaker 1: Epstein File Transparency Act. Some of the women who say
Speaker 1: naked pictures of them were released in the documents have
Speaker 1: gone to court to get those records taken down. Bensky
Speaker 1: said that when the group first asked Blanche whether he
Speaker 1: had read the Epstein files, he basically put it back
Speaker 1: on us, referencing the massive volume of files and implying
Speaker 1: it was too extensive to read in full. We then asked,
Speaker 1: have you read any of them? Bensky said Blanche didn't
Speaker 1: give a clear response, but instead she said that their
Speaker 1: questions gave him the opportunity to say that he had
Speaker 1: read some of the files or searched through them. USA
Speaker 1: Today asked a press representative whether Blanche had read the
Speaker 1: Epstein files, and did not receive an immediate response to
Speaker 1: that inquiry or to a follow up inquiry. Some of
Speaker 1: the women characterized Blanche as insensitive about the situation. And look,
Speaker 1: he definitely is right. Let's not make pretend that he cares.
Speaker 1: I'm so tired of that. Oh yeah, they all care
Speaker 1: so much. Oh, the Trump administration cares about Epstein, justice
Speaker 1: and transparency. They've done more for Epstein's survivors than anybody else,
Speaker 1: unless you ask the survivors. Pretty sure they have a
Speaker 1: different opinion. There is crimes in those files that need
Speaker 1: to be investigated, and they just haven't done their job.
Speaker 1: McGee said he's not taking it seriously. No, he is not.
Speaker 1: And that's just on brand for the DOJ when it
Speaker 1: comes to Epstein. People who were laying eyes on them
Speaker 1: were only laying eyes on them to make redactions and
Speaker 1: not to look at any investigative leads. And that feels
Speaker 1: like an enormous waste of time and manpower. Stein said, yes,
Speaker 1: for sure, in all those documents, even the ones we've seen,
Speaker 1: there are plenty of crimes to chase. It's not that
Speaker 1: there's no evidence there. Most certainly is the problem is
Speaker 1: there's no willpower. If it was their only job to
Speaker 1: do redactions, they failed to do them properly. She said.
Speaker 1: The women in the group are universally opposed to Blanche
Speaker 1: being confirmed as attorney general. If all Democrats on the
Speaker 1: Senate Judiciary vote no and two Republicans join them, his
Speaker 1: nomination could be doomed. Zero chance. I've told you from
Speaker 1: the jump, do not get excited about it, don't get
Speaker 1: gas lit, and don't let the media dog walk you.
Speaker 1: Cornin and Tillis they're not heroes, cowards, the both of them.
Speaker 1: If his nomination makes it to the Senate floor and
Speaker 1: all Democrats vote against the nomination, a handful of Republican
Speaker 1: senators could also block the nomination. That's what Epstein accusers
Speaker 1: or hoping happens, but it's not clear whether the vote
Speaker 1: would happen before twenty twenty seven. Trump is going to
Speaker 1: be Trump and do what he feels like he has
Speaker 1: to be done. But I do believe that the Republican
Speaker 1: Party will have some courage. McGee said. We've been meeting
Speaker 1: with both parties on both sides, and they're going to
Speaker 1: stand on the right side of history. Man. I wish
Speaker 1: I had that kind of faith, because I just don't.
Speaker 1: All these years I've been doing this, all the people
Speaker 1: that have gaslit us, all the people that have pumped
Speaker 1: our tires, just let them go flat. Sorry, I don't
Speaker 1: believe it. Stein said they may request another meeting with
Speaker 1: the Justice Department because she wants to remain open to
Speaker 1: working with them in good faith. But she said she
Speaker 1: wouldn't participate in a performative meeting ever again. And why
Speaker 1: would you, Why would you want to do that? That
Speaker 1: only helps one person, and that's Todd Blanche. Just because
Speaker 1: Todd Blanche doesn't want to work with us, that's I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: But that's not going to stop us. She said, Well,
Speaker 1: it's not going to stop us either. So Todd Blanche
Speaker 1: better buckle up, because there's going to be a record
Speaker 1: of all the nonsense he gets involved in, at least
Speaker 1: when it comes to Epstein. And I promise you, at
Speaker 1: some point he's going to have to answer for that
Speaker 1: record in front of the American people. And that might
Speaker 1: not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but it's
Speaker 1: coming eventually. And when that train comes rolling into the station,
Speaker 1: let's see how dismissive Todd Blanche is. Then all the
Speaker 1: information that goes with this episode can be found in
Speaker 1: the description box.