As Confirmation Hearing Nears, Todd Blanche’s Role in Epstein Case Draws Scrutiny
Todd Blanche’s role in interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime associate of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, will be front and center as he seeks to become attorney general.
When Todd Blanche interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell at a Florida courthouse last summer, he said it was because she had never been given an opportunity to speak about her past with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Blanche’s personal role in the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein case will be front and center on Wednesday during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement official.
Mr. Epstein’s victims, lawmakers and others have criticized Mr. Blanche’s handling of the Epstein files. They say he badly bungled the work by revealing information about victims and failing to extract meaningful information from Ms. Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s former assistant and ex-girlfriend, who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021.
As the department’s No. 2 official, Mr. Blanche oversaw the release of the Epstein files. He also interviewed Ms. Maxwell as public anger mounted over the administration’s abrupt decision to no longer release documents about Mr. Epstein’s years of abuse of teenage girls.
It is highly unusual for such a high-ranking Justice Department official to personally conduct an investigative interview of a convicted criminal who remains in prison. The oddity was underscored by who was not there — neither the F.B.I. case agent, nor a detective for the New York Police Department, nor federal prosecutors who had worked the Maxwell case.
