Blanche apologises on Capitol Hill for Epstein files 'mistakes'

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has faced a tense bipartsian grilling on Capitol Hill, as he seeks a permanent appointment to lead America's top law enforcement agency.Blanche was questioned about his personal relationship with President Donald Trump, the Epstein files, and a controversial settlement between Trump and the US tax agency that a federal judge nullified this week.Trump dismissed his previous attorney general, Pam Bondi, amid a political firestorm over the Epstein files release. Blanche has led the agency in the interim.Here are five key moments from Blanche's confirmation hearing.Blanche asked if he is Trump's friendGoing into Wednesday's hearing, Blanche faced questions about whether he would operate independently from Trump, who has vowed "retribution" against his political enemies in his second term. Trump has pressured the justice department to pursue controversial prosecutions of several of his critics, including former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.Blanche served as Trump's personal attorney in three of the four major criminal cases he faced leading up to the 2024 election. Most notably, Blanche led Trump's legal defence in his New York criminal trial.Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who broadly supports the administration, asked Blanche on Wednesday if he was "friends" with Trump."I'm his lawyer - was his lawyer," Blanche said in response. "And now I'm the deputy attorney general.""I met him as his criminal defence attorney, I'm not sure there's very many people who have ever had a criminal defence attorney who calls that person their friend," Blanche said.Is the 'anti-weaponisation fund' dead?The day before Blanche's confirmation hearing, a federal judge quashed a settlement between Trump, his business and family, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The deal included immunity from future audits and the creation of a $1.7bn (£1.2bn) "anti-weaponisation fund" for people who believed they were unfairly targeted by the government.The settlement had sparked bipartisan outrage on Capitol Hill, and senators from both parties questioned Blanche about the agreement. Republican senators, in particular, seemed to want Blanche on the record saying that the fund was truly dead."You have no reason to believe that the so-called weaponisation fund will continue because of the settlement, agreement, is that correct?" Senator Mike Lee, a Republican, asked Blanche."I am confident it will not," Blanche said."It should never be paid out," said another Republican senator, Thom Tillis. He pressed Blanche for an "agreed to piece of text, coming from the administration, that just renders this thing dead, gone."Blanche apologises for Epstein files 'mistakes'The Epstein files are the biggest challenge to face the justice department since Trump's return. After public outcry, Congress mandated that the justice department release its trove of millions of files related to the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, the slow pace of their release and extensive redactions have drawn criticism from lawmakers and survivors.Blanche faced probing questions from both parties about the justice department's handling of the files.About a dozen women, wearing T-shirts that featured images of the redacted files, attended the hearing to protest.Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the panel, asked Blanche about "problematic redactions", "insufficient effort" on following investigative leads and "refusal to meet with victims", as well as questions surrounding the Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell's move to a lower-security prison.Blanche responded that redacting and releasing six millions pages of files within a short timeframe 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."During one exchange, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal asked if Blanche would apologise 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."Blanche says Trump not eligible for third termSenator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, asks Blanche about calls from some of Trump's backers that he should serve a third term as president, which is prohibited under the US Constitution."Is President Trump, just as a simple matter of constitutional law, eligible to run for another term as president in 2028?" Coons asked."I don't believe he is, no," Blanche responded.Trump himself has said he would "love" to seek a third term, but rejected the possibility of seeking the vice-presidency as a loophole. Trump has also praised two likely Republican contenders, Vice-President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as potential future presidential candidates.'An extraordinarily obnoxious question'Blanche mostly tackled pointed questions with technical and lawyerly responses. At times, however, he surfaced flashes of the pugnacious defence attorney who had grilled witnesses in Trump's criminal trial and sparred with the judge."That's an extraordinarily obnoxious question, Senator," Blanche told Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who had asked him about FBI Director Kash Patel's fitness for office.Later in the hearing, Blanche took issue with Democratic Senator Cory Booker's rapid-fire questioning about a proposed merger between two major media corporations, Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery.Booker asked him about his role in reviewing a decision to close an investigation of the proposed merger, then immediately asked a follow-up as Blanche began to answer."You don't even let me answer, man," Blanche exclaimed. Blanche's confirmation not yet in the bagBlanche needs the backing of all Republicans on the judiciary committee, but Senator John Cornyn of Texas has yet to commit his support.After questioning Blanche, he told CNN he continues "to have some concerns" and is not "going to make any decisions at this point".North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis was the biggest Republican question mark on the panel.But he indicated he might support Blanche, despite his misgivings about the "anti-weaponisation fund", after the nominee said the fund was not moving forward.The judiciary committee will next vote on whether to advance Blanche's nomination to the full Senate. After that, the entire Senate chamber will vote whether to confirm or reject Blanche's nomination.