The Epstein files have emerged as the most significant test for the Justice Department since President Trump returned to office.
Following intense public pressure, Congress ordered the department to release its vast collection of millions of documents tied to the investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Yet the sluggish release schedule and heavy redactions have sparked criticism from lawmakers and survivors alike.
Blanche encountered tough questioning from both parties regarding how the Justice Department managed the files.
Roughly a dozen women, wearing shirts displaying images of the redacted documents, attended the session to voice their protest.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, the panel’s leading Republican, pressed Blanche on “problematic redactions,” “insufficient effort” in pursuing leads, and a “refusal to meet with victims,” along with concerns about the transfer of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to a lower-security facility.
Blanche replied that redacting and publishing six million pages of records on a compressed timeline was a “Herculean task.”
“There were mistakes that were made, and so approximately 1% of the redactions had to be fixed,” Blanche added. “We had dozens of lawyers on call.”
In one exchange, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal asked whether Blanche would apologize to Epstein survivors for “the mishandling and mistakes.”
“I will absolutely say that any mistake that we made should not have been made,” Blanche said. “And I very much. I very much apologise.”
