Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he could not meet with the 10 Epstein survivors attending his confirmation hearing on Wednesday because they are represented by attorneys. He said one of his deputies could meet with them.
“They have lawyers, as you know. I’m prohibited from meeting directly with them,” Blanche said when pressed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who said, “I think you ought to be in the room because you ought to hear this.”
Lawyers generally can’t discuss a case directly with someone represented by another attorney, under Rule 4.2 of the American Bar Association.
A group of Epstein survivors released a video this week urging the Senate to reject Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General, saying the DOJ improperly released their personal information without fully redacting it.
Under former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was fired by President Trump in April, Blanche led the Justice Department’s release of the Epstein files late last year into this year. There were delays in the release and botched redactions.
“I am sorry that in about 1% of the documents mistakes were made,” Blanche said Wednesday. “But what I will say on top of that is we put tons of resources to rectifying those mistakes immediately, including pulling down documents within minutes of being informed that they were there.”
Last summer, Blanche also interviewed longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp shortly after the interview.
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