Tillis says he won't support Blanche unless he meets with Epstein survivors

Washington — Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Thursday that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche must meet with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's abuse before he votes to advance Blanche's nomination for attorney general out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Tillis made his request during the second day of Blanche's confirmation hearing, which featured testimony from five witnesses discussing his nomination to lead the Justice Department. Among those who appeared before the Judiciary Committee was Dani Bensky, whose name and personal information were mistakenly made public in documents related to the federal investigation into Epstein that were released by the Justice Department last year.

Tillis, whose term in the Senate ends in early January, said he has a "positive predisposition" toward Blanche, but hasn't yet made a final decision on whether he will support his confirmation.

"Mr. Blanche said very quickly yesterday that he would meet with the victims, the Epstein victims, today if it could be arranged," Tillis said during Thursday's Judiciary Committee hearing. He added that the earliest the panel will vote on Blanche's nomination is in two weeks, and he expects Blanche to meet with the survivors before then.

"Because it seemed to me that Mr. Blanche was willing to say that he would meet with them and counsel — I understand the restriction that counsel has to be present — I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote out of this committee," he said. "I'm trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes. There should not be any reason why, based on what Mr. Blanche said yesterday, if he said that he would do it today, then he can certainly do it over the next two weeks."

Along with Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, 

The acting attorney general must secure the votes of both Tillis and GOP Texas Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. The Judiciary Committee is divided between 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats following the unexpected death of GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Saturday.

Tillis is not running for reelection, and Cornyn lost his Senate primary to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was endorsed by President Trump.

During Thursday's hearing, Bensky told the committee that her name was among the names of more than 350 survivors of Epstein's crimes that were submitted to the Justice Department for redaction before it released its Epstein files in December.

Bensky said in a written opening statement that she and other survivors contacted former Attorney General Pam Bondi and Blanche, but they never responded to the requests or met with them. 

During questioning from senators Wednesday, the first day of his confirmation hearing, Blanche told the Judiciary panel that "mistakes were made" during the release of the Epstein files and he apologized to survivors whose personal information was erroneously not redacted in the documents. When asked whether he would meet with the survivors, Blanche said Justice Department staff was available to meet with them. 

"I have never said I will not meet with survivors," he said, adding that he is "prohibited from meeting directly with them" and must go through their lawyers first.

In addition to questions about the Justice Department's handling of the release of the Epstein files, senators also pressed Blanche about a deal reached with Mr. Trump to settle a $10 billion civil lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service in January over the leak of his tax returns by a government contractor.

As part of the settlement, the Justice Department agreed to create a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund and granted Mr. Trump, his two older sons and his companies immunity from audits and investigations related to tax returns already filed.

Facing a backlash over the "anti-weaponization" program from Republicans and Democrats alike, Blanche told the committee that the fund "doesn't exist anymore" and is "dead." But the immunity provision for Mr. Trump remains intact.

Cornyn has expressed repeated concern about the settlement, telling reporters that "part of the problem is that the release that he signed is so broad."

"It really extends beyond the parties to the lawsuit, which strikes me as a bad idea, and it also seems to extend beyond Treasury and the IRS," Cornyn said. "He said he didn't read it that way, but I can read, too." 

Cornyn called Blanche a "very impressive guy," but he added that "to be attorney general of the United States, you have to walk a very narrow path between being the chief law enforcement officer of the country and then being the president's guy."

"Seems to me that particularly on the tax case, that he certainly leaned in to help the president beyond what was necessary to resolve the case," he added.  

Cornyn said Thursday that he remains undecided on Blanche's nomination, and won't decide until it's time to cast his vote on the committee. 

Tillis has maintained that he's leaning yes on Blanche's nomination, but also won't support him without certainty that the "anti-weaponization fund" won't reemerge. The North Carolina Republican indicated to reporters Wednesday that he needed the president to endorse a legislative fix to guarantee that a bill could make it through the House, after suggesting the Senate could pass it via unanimous consent. 

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune appeared less confident. Asked by reporters Thursday morning whether it could pass by unanimous consent, and whether the president would sign it, the  South Dakota Republican replied, "I don't know."

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