Pam Bondi claims Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of ‘entire release’ of Epstein files

Former attorney general Pam Bondi told lawmakers that Todd Blanche, the man Donald Trump has lined up to replace her, was “in charge” of the US Department of Justice’s controversial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.Appearing before the House oversight and reform committee, which is investigating the late financier and convicted sex offender, Bondi also said she was “not certain of the extent” that Trump knew about the crimes of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking crimes, before they became public.Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, claimed in a statement on Thursday that Trump had been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein” when contacted for comment on Bondi’s testimony.Blanche, who served as Bondi’s deputy at the justice department, was responsible for the “entire release of the Epstein files”, Bondi claimed, according to a transcript released by the committee on Thursday. Blanche was appointed as acting attorney general following Bondi’s ouster, and Trump said this week he planned to nominate him for the role permanently.Last week, Bondi faced questions about the justice department’s handling of the Epstein files during her tenure. Her appearance came as the department continues to face scrutiny over the files and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated the release of Epstein-related records held by the department. The department has maintained it acted in accordance with the law.Several lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, as well as survivors of Epstein’s abuse, have criticized some of the department’s actions and raised concerns over certain redactions and the disclosure of sensitive personal information in the files.In her opening statement and throughout her testimony, Bondi defended the justice department’s handling of the records under her leadership, at the same time working to distance herself from the release and review of the files, saying that she did not “lead every aspect” of the department’s effort, but that it was Blanche who oversaw it.“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” she told lawmakers on 29 May. In her opening statement, she also said that she did not “conduct that document review myself” and told the panel that she “delegated oversight over this process” to Blanche.Bondi acknowledged “there were redaction errors” in the release, but insisted that “since day one of this process, this department has been committed to accountability and transparency”.During a break in questioning last week, several Democratic lawmakers told reporters that Bondi was telling them that it was Blanche “that was leading the Epstein investigation and quite frankly, all of the mistakes that we saw, the redactions, not protecting survivors, she continues to push that back on to the acting AG Todd Blanche”.Afterward, Bondi pushed back on that characterization in a social media post, calling it “NOT TRUE”, and said that she “praised Acting AG Blanche’s management of this Herculean task”.In the transcript, Bondi can be seen making the claims the Democrats had made during the break, and denying she was “blaming anything on Todd”.“Todd Blanche is one of the most highly ethical individuals I know, and I think he is making an incredible acting attorney general,” she said in her testimony. “And he managed this investigation – and it was a Herculean task – with very little error.”If formally nominated by Trump to be attorney general on a permanent basis, Blanche would require confirmation from the US Senate.During Bondi’s testimony last week, she also told lawmakers that she learned of the controversial prison transfer of Maxwell through news reports “after it happened”, claiming: “I had nothing to do with that.”Asked whether Maxwell should receive a pardon, Bondi replied “no”, adding that Maxwell was a “monster”. “I believe she should die in prison,” said Bondi.Throughout the interview, Bondi also declined to discuss any conversations with Trump, saying she would not comment on discussions she has had with the US president.In one exchange, lawmakers asked Bondi whether upon taking office “any victims or victims’ attorneys” reached out to the department.“Yes,” Bondi replied. When asked how many, she said that she couldn’t recall and added: “I know multiple – there were multiple victims, and many of which, I believe the majority, are represented by attorneys.”“Did you meet with them personally, or would that have been something that Todd Blanche would’ve done?” lawmakers asked Bondi, to which she responded: “No. I spoke to one attorney. I cannot recall her name …“I spoke to her, and I believe I referred her to the FBI,” she added. “You know, when a victim is represented, you go through their attorney.”Bondi’s appearance before the committee followed weeks of back-and-forth between the former attorney general and lawmakers on the committee.In the wake of Bondi’s testimony, Democrats are urging the representative James Comer, the Republican who chairs the committee, to bring Blanche and the FBI director, Kash Patel, to also answer questions as part of the panel’s investigation into the Epstein case.