Epstein Survivor Says Todd Blanche Chose Not to Follow Any Leads
A survivor of sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein testified at Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing on Thursday, hammering the acting attorney general for meeting with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for nine hours while refusing to give Epstein survivors even one minute of his time.“According to public reporting, Mr. Blanche spent approximately nine hours meeting with Ghislane Maxwell. He did not even spend nine minutes meeting with a survivor,” said survivor Dani Bensky. “Afterwards, Maxwell was transferred to what many have described as a ‘summer camp prison.’ We learned all of this through the news. Imagine what that feels like as a survivor—to sit there—if you are exploited by Ghislaine Maxwell and you’re hearing this for the first time with no explanation, no outreach, no transparency from your government.”Bensky is referring to Maxwell’s transfer from a federal prison camp to a cushier, more open prison with unlimited toilet paper, technology access, and a pass to use prison facilities late at night, following her meeting with Blanche last July. That, along with Blanche’s highly consistent redactions, has made his handling of the Epstein files particularly questionable, Bensky noted. She also brought up Blanche’s presence in the Situation Room last year while the Trump administration was deciding how to handle its bungling of the files.“To add insult to injury, the information that Todd Blanche gathered in the White House Situation Room last summer to curb the political fallout from the Epstein files was absolutely abhorrent. Instead of following investigative leads, our government treated … this as a political crisis that needs to be managed,” Bensky continued. “In our nation, everyone deserves equal protection under the law. Todd Blanche has been unwilling to protect Epstein survivors’ personal information, and he has been resistant to investigate the people who helped Epstein and Maxwell commit those crimes. We need an attorney general committed to ensuring that everyone who facilitated Epstein’s crimes is held accountable. Please, I implore you. Please.”Epstein survivor Dani Bensky: "Todd Blanche spent approximately nine hours meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, he did not even spend nine minutes meeting with a survivor…We need an AG committed to ensuring that everyone who facilitated Epstein's crimes is held accountable." pic.twitter.com/YH23EBLRUL— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) July 16, 2026“The survivors in this room know there are investigative leads because they are our stories,” Bensky said. “Mr. Blanche knows it too. Yet he has chosen not to pursue them.”Blanche offered pretty mixed signals on whether he’d actually meet with any survivors during his own testimony on Wednesday, telling Senator Dick Durbin that “we will never, never not talk to victims,” while in the same breath stating “if they have lawyers, as you know. I’m prohibited from meeting directly with them.”Bensky was a 17-year-old aspiring ballerina when she was first recruited to give massages to Epstein in his penthouse. She and at least 18 other victims have come out against Blanche’s nomination for attorney general.