Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces Epstein survivors at his Senate confirmation hearing this week, with one expert predicting he’ll be left “squirming.”
Blanche is set to testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to The Bulwark. Kristol writes that Democrats intend to call at least one survivor as a witness on Thursday.
Nineteen survivors have already gone on record opposing his nomination, according to CNN. Blanche has refused to meet with any of them, the survivors have said.
Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell wrote that Democrats will have plenty of opportunities to make Blanche look like a “corrupt, unqualified, incompetent hack” — and that the Epstein files are their sharpest weapon.
“When voters scroll through their social media feeds after the hearing, Democrats should ensure that they get clip after clip of Blanche squirming to justify his handling of the Epstein files,” Longwell wrote.
Bulwark editor William Kristol agreed, predicting survivors will show up in force.
“It’s also likely that when Blanche testifies on Wednesday, Epstein survivors will be present,” Kristol wrote on Monday.
“Will Blanche, who has refused to meet with them, acknowledge them?” he continued. “Will he apologize for the botched redaction process over which he presided that exposed them to further pain and harassment?”
Kristol expects Democrats to call “at least one courageous Epstein survivor” as a witness Thursday — and said that testimony could be the “highlight of the hearing.”
The survivors’ opposition centers on Blanche’s role in overseeing the release of the Epstein files. In a joint statement obtained by CNN, 19 women said Blanche “failed to deliver transparency” and called his nomination “failing upward, plain and simple.”
“We have seen consistently over the past year his behavior in regards to the Epstein case is just really concerning,” survivor Liz Stein told CNN.
That concern traces back to a Situation Room meeting Blanche attended on July 17, 2025, aimed at containing the political fallout from the Epstein files — first revealed by The New York Times.
“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” former Attorney General Pam Bondi said in closed-door congressional testimony in May, according to CNN.
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