Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche (right) walks past reporters at the U.S. Capitol, May 21, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON – Former Justice Department officials and a survivor of behind schedule sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse raised alarm Wednesday over acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s suitability to lead the Justice Department, a day before a scheduled committee vote to secure his nomination to the full Senate.
The tight committee divide, made unusually slender after the death of the behind schedule Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, could mean the vote will hinge on the two Republican senators rejected by President Donald Trump, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas.
Former Justice Department employees and an Epstein survivor testified on Capitol Hill at a forum organized by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
They argue that Blanche’s relationship with Trump and his “astonishing” involvement in the president’s recent settlement with the IRS, as well as his failure to release the Epstein files, disqualify him as the nation’s top law enforcement official.
“I don’t know what happened, but this is definitely not someone I used to work with,” said Perry Carbone, a former federal prosecutor who worked with Blanche in the Southern District of New York, where Blanche served from 2006 to 2014.
Blanche eventually left the Department of Justice to work in private law. He represented Trump as his personal defense attorney in three criminal cases in 2023 and 2024. Trump, with the approval of Senate Republicans, nominated Blanche to be deputy attorney general in March 2025.
Trump announced Blanche as attorney general in early June, just over two months after former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision trip.
The Department of Justice did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment on the hearing.
IRS contract, Minnesota investigation
Carbone listed a number of reasons he believed Blanche should be barred from leading the department, including an “emergency settlement with the IRS,” the prosecution of the president’s political opponents “based on evidence that raises serious doubts about the integrity of these cases,” and efforts to “stop or interfere” with Minnesota’s investigation into the shootings of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents.
Carbone also noted Blanche’s “declaration of war on our judges” and the interview and transfer of Epstein co-conspirator and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell “for reasons that appear political.”
“We repeat the mantra every day so that no one forgets it: ‘We do the right things, the right way, for the right reasons.’ It is not my place to judge whether a candidate has forgotten this credo. That judgment is up to the committee. I can only tell you what I have observed and why it bothers someone who has spent his entire career trying to live by this credo,” Carbone said.
He added that Blanche’s firing of department officials who investigated Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol “undermines” public trust.
“Even the appearance of retaliation for doing one’s job sends a chilling message throughout the department,” Carbone added.
Layoffs, resignations
Peter Carr, a longtime department spokesman fired by Blanche in April 2025, estimated that the department had lost 19,000 employees, including 30% of its lawyers and 10% of its FBI special agents.
“This includes both those who were fired and those who were pushed out or chose to leave,” said Carr, who worked as a spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith’s office during the Biden administration. He first joined the Justice Department in 2007 under President George W. Bush.
Elizabeth Stein, a victim of Epstein’s violence, expressed anger that the victims’ names and photos were released when the Justice Department posted Epstein’s dossier online, as required by law after Congress almost unanimously passed legislation forcing the release.
“When the Epstein files were released earlier this year, my name remained unchanged in a sentence that read, in part, ‘Stein was a victim of Epstein and Maxwell in the mid-1990s.’ It doesn’t get any clearer than that,” said Stein, now a human trafficking specialist and advocate for World Without Exploitation.
“The name of the school I attended, where I worked, and parts of my home address were also publicly released. Instead, we were exposed by the very institution Congress is tasked with protecting survivors.”
“Typical” terms
Carbone also spoke at length about Blanche’s involvement in Trump’s settlement with the IRS.
In exchange for Trump and his family dropping their $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of their 2019 tax returns, the Justice Department ordered the creation of settlement fund for an amount of almost USD 1.8 billion.
At her confirmation hearing, Blanche defended the terms of the settlement as “typical.” hearing with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15.
“If it’s not standard language, can you point that out to us? I think it’s really important to emphasize that,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., asked Carbone.
The former federal prosecutor, whose career spanned 30 years, said that under normal circumstances, the IRS would tailor the language only to the issues in dispute and likely calculate a settlement amount.
“That’s not the point. Some of this language is stunning and I have it here in front of me… One of the subcategories refers to ‘legal action and/or weaponization’. What does that mean?” Carbone said.
Booker stated that “the totality of the evidence is astounding” against Blanche’s nomination.
“I want to inform you all very clearly and unequivocally that if only some of these issues existed, they would be enough to disqualify you.[…]This man has made an impact both as a deputy and now as an actor,” Booker said at the end of the hearing.
There’s a dramatic vote ahead of us
Whether Blanche’s nomination is accepted by the Senate Judiciary Committee depends on whether all Republicans on the panel support her, by an 11-10 vote.
Campaigners against Blanche’s confirmation target two members – Tillis, who is retiring at the end of his term, and Cornyn.
Trump harshly criticized Tillis for opposing the Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 and said he would find candidates in the primaries who would oppose Tillis. Earlier this year, Trump endorsed Cornyn’s primary opponent.
Just over two dozen survivors of abuse by Epstein and Maxwell sent messages letter Tuesday to Tillis and Cornyn.
“We understand that you are both open to opposing his nomination, and we ask you to stand with survivors of human trafficking and sexual assault at this critical time,” the survivors wrote.
“Under Todd Blanche’s leadership, the Justice Department released the names of survivors, identifying information and photos, while the names of alleged abusers and enablers remained hidden. More than a thousand women and girls were victims of violence, but no one except Epstein and Maxwell was brought to justice.”
The women wrote that Blanche met with them after her confirmation hearing, but that it meant “an hour of distraction, interruption and gaslighting.”
“Senator Tillis, when you urged Todd Blanche to meet with survivors, we believed you expected a serious and meaningful conversation. Instead, what occurred was a box check, organized only after his confirmation was in jeopardy,” they wrote.
Common Cause North Carolina, the state arm of the national progressive advocacy group, in early July urged Tillis to vote against Blanche, who, said the group’s director, Brooks Fuller, “has shown that the only person he is interested in protecting and defending is President Donald Trump.”
The organization teamed up with other groups, including North Carolina for the People and The Justice Project, to deliver messages to Tillis’ office on July 6, according to organizers.
Tillis’ office did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for a response. Cornyn’s office said it had no comment at this time.
