United States Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has sought to downplay the appearance of high-profile names in the Epstein files.
Blanche was speaking after Friday’s dump of 3 million pages from the Epstein files; documents that included previously unseen references to Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Ex-Prince Andrew and Elon Musk.
The Ingraham Angle host Laura Ingraham asked Blanche about the possibility of prosecution for anyone in the files who had “partied” with Epstein and had “relations” with minors.
“I’ll never say no, and we will always investigate any evidence of misconduct, but as you know, it’s not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said.
“So as horrible as it is… it’s not a crime to email with Mr Epstein. Some of these men may have done horrible things and if we have evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will.”
Blanche repeated, “It’s also the kind of thing that the American people need to understand that it isn’t a crime to party with Mr Epstein.”
Ingraham interjected that in some of the 2000 videos and 180,000 photos released last week, it appeared that there was more going on than mere “partying.” “If the photos could speak… some of them look pretty bad,” she said, without referencing anyone in the files.
“Unfortunately, photos can’t speak,” Blanche responded. When asked if there was any incriminating footage in the files, he insisted, “not of any individuals-men-having improper, you know, sex or anything with victims… they’re all released for everybody to see.”
Trump, 79, has repeatedly stated that he fell out with Epstein. When Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump claimed he had not spoken to him in 15 years. He has denied being part of any of Epstein’s wrongdoing and has not been charged or accused by prosecutors in relation to the sex offender’s crimes.
The high-profile individuals who are named in the latest files have not necessarily been implicated in Epstein’s crimes, with many of them previously issuing denials. That includes Musk, who said this week the latest reports linking him to Epstein were “fake news” and that emails to the dead man could be “misunderstood.”
California Rep. Robert Garcia was horrified by the Republican’s statements in an interview on The Source on Monday night.
“That‘s gross, it‘s sick,” Garcia said, claiming that the “BS” remarks would be “re-traumatizing” to survivors and victims.
“Jeffrey Epstein trafficked and raped children and girls,” Garcia told CNN. “The men that were responsible, that were not just co-conspirators that funded what Mr Epstein was doing, but the men that participated in those actions have yet to be held accountable. So why won‘t Mr Blanche release the names of all the men that raped and abused children? Why won‘t the DOJ release the names of the co-conspirators?”
Garcia also called out the redaction of content in the Epstein files, as well as the Trump administration only releasing 3 million of the 6 million documents relating to the late sex offender.
He also highlighted how the DOJ had played “games with where Trump’s name is and removing this photo and redacting this, but then putting out the names of the survivors.”
Garcia added, “This has been completely botched by the White House and is all part of a massive cover up that‘s clearly being directed by the president and Pam Bondi. Todd Blanche should be ashamed of himself. He should apologize to all the survivors and he should go after everyone that caused harm and release the names, most importantly, immediately.”
Epstein was jailed in 2008 after pleading guilty to procuring a girl aged below 18 for prostitution. He served 13 months of an 18 month sentence. He was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors in Florida and New York. He died in his jail cell the next month.
Blanche admitted to Fox News that “mistakes were made” regarding the Epstein files, citing they were combing through “pieces of paper that stack [from] the ground to the [size of] two Eiffel Towers.” Two Eiffel Towers would be 2,166 ft high.
Blanche said when a victim or a lawyer who had been named in Friday’s dump reached out to them, “we immediately dealt with it and pulled it down.”
“We knew there would be mistakes,” Blanche admitted. “I said that to the American people on Friday. Everything we did was protect victims and that’s the case today just like it was on Friday. What we’re talking about is .002 percent.”
Ingraham said “It matters to them,” with Blanche replying “it matters to me too, absolutely.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
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