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Epstein Survivors Fight DOJ Effort to Block Todd Blanche's Deposition (11/6/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. In this episode we're going to take a
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  Speaker 1: look at the plaintiff's response to Todd Blanche's motion to
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  Speaker 1: quash the subpoena. And how this has to do with
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  Speaker 1: the lawsuit that was filed by the plaintiffs against the
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  Speaker 1: United States of America. Case number 925-CV-80880 Jane Doe 1
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  Speaker 1: et al. plaintiffs versus the United States of America, the defendant.
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  Speaker 1: Plaintiffs' opposition to defendants' motion to quash subpoena for Todd
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  Speaker 1: Blanch with supporting memorandum of law. Plaintiffs, through the undersigned counsel,
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  Speaker 1: opposed defendants' motion to quash the subpoena to testify at
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  Speaker 1: a deposition in a civil action, the subpoena directed to
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General Todd Blanch, and seeking a protective order. Plaintiffs
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  Speaker 1: subpoenaed Blanch because he is the only defendant employee that's
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  Speaker 1: made statements that are precisely on point with the matter
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  Speaker 1: at issue for jurisdictional discovery, which is whether defendants' failure
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  Speaker 1: to comply with its policies is discretionary or not. Specifically,
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  Speaker 1: there's no dispute that the FBI received complaints that Jeffrey
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  Speaker 1: Epstein was sexually abusing children and had CSAM. The only
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  Speaker 1: dispute is, did the FBI have discretion to ignore those complaints?
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  Speaker 1: According to Todd Blanche, United States Attorney General, the answer
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  Speaker 1: is no. On July 16th, 2026, Blanche told a room
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  Speaker 1: full of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking twice that
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  Speaker 1: the FBI failed to properly investigate Epstein before 2007. Since
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  Speaker 1: the FBI failed to properly investigate, this indicates that the
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  Speaker 1: FBI did not have discretion. Since Blanche is the only
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  Speaker 1: employee of defendant that made the statement, the defense objections,
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  Speaker 1: based on there being other resources, of this information are
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  Speaker 1: not relevant here. Defendant's arguments to quash this subpoena are
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  Speaker 1: based on the fact that plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that the
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General has any unique information. That is plainly untrue,
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  Speaker 1: and establishes that this deposition should proceed. Moreover, mere moments
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  Speaker 1: before defendant filed the instant motion to quash, its counsel
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  Speaker 1: asked what was the basis for Blanche's deposition. They were
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  Speaker 1: told that Blanche made these statements admitting that the FBI
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  Speaker 1: failed to properly investigate and as such, these decisions were
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  Speaker 1: not discretionary. Despite that, defendants decided not to address any
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  Speaker 1: of this information in its motion. Quashing this subpoena would
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  Speaker 1: again allow the government to avert accountability and transparency at
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  Speaker 1: the expense of the victims. Relevant facts and procedure for
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  Speaker 1: this motion. The parties are supposed to be conducting jurisdictional
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  Speaker 1: discovery as to whether the FBI had discretion to ignore
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  Speaker 1: complaints of child sex abuse and child pornography in violation
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  Speaker 1: of their policies and procedures. However, the government has continued
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  Speaker 1: to obstruct and conceal and have not produced a single
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  Speaker 1: piece of paper or witness. On October 15, 2026, counsel
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  Speaker 1: for the government said in an email that they were
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  Speaker 1: still attempting to locate a 30B6 witness with knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: all the topics listed in the notice. Plaintiff's counsel requested
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  Speaker 1: that the 30B6 witnesses be produced as soon as possible,
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  Speaker 1: given the short timeline to complete jurisdictional discovery, and there
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  Speaker 1: was no response. To date, the government has not offered
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  Speaker 1: any 30B6 witnesses or furnished any responses to plaintiff's jurisdictional
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  Speaker 1: discovery demands. Plaintiff also have subpoenaed Blanche, which is at
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  Speaker 1: issue for the current motion. As per the attached declaration
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  Speaker 1: of Jennifer C. Plotkin, Esquire Jordan K. Merson, Esquire, and
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  Speaker 1: two survivor plaintiffs, on July 16, 2026, survivors and their
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  Speaker 1: attorneys attended a meeting with Blanche in D.C. During that meeting,
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  Speaker 1: Blanche admitted twice that the FBI case against Epstein was mishandled.
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  Speaker 1: He first stated that the FBI case against Epstein was
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  Speaker 1: handled improperly before 2007. Also, during that same meeting, Blanche
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  Speaker 1: stated to survivors, you got screwed over by the FBI,
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  Speaker 1: but I cannot fix the FBI's lack of investigation. If
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  Speaker 1: the FBI had discretion, then there could not be a
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  Speaker 1: failure to properly investigate. As part of the jurisdictional discovery,
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  Speaker 1: plaintiffs subpoenaed Blanche, the only witness with personal knowledge of
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  Speaker 1: the statements, and the meaning behind the statements he made,
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  Speaker 1: on July 16, 2026. Berther, as United States Attorney General,
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  Speaker 1: He is particularly situated to comment on the mandatory or
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  Speaker 1: discretionary nature of government actions, including those of the FBI. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: as of today, defendant has failed to identify any other
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  Speaker 1: knowledgeable witnesses on any subject, let alone Blanche's admission to
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  Speaker 1: the Epstein sex trafficking ring survivors. Defendant now opposes the
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  Speaker 1: subpoena of Blanche without justification. Argument. the Attorney General's testimony
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  Speaker 1: goes directly to the jurisdictional question. This court permitted jurisdictional
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  Speaker 1: discovery as to the existence and content of any mandatory
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  Speaker 1: established policy, protocol, and procedure, whether written or otherwise. Governing
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  Speaker 1: the FBI's conduct in assessing or handling tips, reports, and
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  Speaker 1: complaints of sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, and or CSAM material,
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  Speaker 1: and allowed parties to engage in this limited jurisdictional discovery
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  Speaker 1: for 90 days. To date, the government has not provided
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  Speaker 1: a response to plaintiff's 30B6 demands and continues to fail
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  Speaker 1: to produce a 30B6 witness. By the most generous interpretation,
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  Speaker 1: this would indicate that the government has been unable to
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  Speaker 1: find any witnesses with relevant knowledge. Blanche's statement that the
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  Speaker 1: FBI case against Epstein was handled improperly before 2007 is
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  Speaker 1: and that I cannot fix the FBI's lack of investigation,
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  Speaker 1: goes directly towards the jurisdictional discovery allowed to be conducted.
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  Speaker 1: Blanche's statements demonstrate that he has relevant and personal knowledge
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  Speaker 1: regarding whether investigation was mandatory or discretionary. The government is
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  Speaker 1: wrong that the plaintiffs cannot meet Rule 26B1' s relevance requirement,
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  Speaker 1: and it's quite the opposite. Blanche's direct statements demonstrate his
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  Speaker 1: relevant knowledge of the FBI policy and his conclusions that
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  Speaker 1: the FBI failed to comply with them. This is not
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  Speaker 1: an open-ended subpoena, but rather a direct and streamlined effort
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  Speaker 1: to obtain the jurisdictional discovery which the defendant has continually fought, delayed, blocked,
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  Speaker 1: and prevented. Plaintiffs are entitled to ask Blanche how the
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  Speaker 1: FBI violated its own policies and procedures, and what he
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  Speaker 1: relied on in concluding that the FBI failed to meet
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  Speaker 1: its obligation to investigate. Moreover... Blanche's prior statements on the
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  Speaker 1: subject as United States Attorney General demonstrate that he has
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  Speaker 1: the relevant knowledge to respond. Indeed, he already admitted that
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  Speaker 1: the FBI failed to meet its obligations to a room
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  Speaker 1: full of people. His deposition is now necessary to better
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  Speaker 1: understand his statement and understanding of the FBI's obligations via
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  Speaker 1: testimony made under oath. 2. The Apex Doctrine establishes that
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  Speaker 1: Blanche should comply with plaintiff's subpoena. A. The Morgan Doctrine
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  Speaker 1: is not an absolute bar. First and foremost, the Morgan
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  Speaker 1: Doctrine does not prohibit deposing high-ranking officials. It simply limits
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  Speaker 1: such depositions to exceptional circumstances, rather than impose a categorical ban.
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  Speaker 1: In U.S. v. Kessler, the court noted that the practice
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  Speaker 1: of calling high officials as witnesses should be discouraged. In support,
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  Speaker 1: it cited the D.C. Circuit's holding that top executive officials
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  Speaker 1: should not be called to testify about their reasons for
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  Speaker 1: official action, absent extraordinary circumstances. Yet, a rule discouraging a
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  Speaker 1: practice is not the same as a rule forbidding it.
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  Speaker 1: And such a rule merely confirms that the testimony is
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  Speaker 1: appropriate at times, including here. The 11th Circuit has consistently
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  Speaker 1: framed the doctrine as a strong presumption rather than a
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  Speaker 1: categorical rule. Courts within the 11th Circuit have compelled depositions
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  Speaker 1: of high government officials and See Gray v. Cole, April 21, 2008.
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  Speaker 1: In Gray, the court held that given the strong likelihood
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  Speaker 1: that an executive leader, like Sheriff Roth, would have personal
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  Speaker 1: knowledge concerning the matters, prevents the court from finding a
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  Speaker 1: good cause to issue a protective order, banning Sheriff Roth's deposition.
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  Speaker 1: In Celentano v. Naco, the court allowed the deposition of
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  Speaker 1: the sheriff because he was likely to have unique personal
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  Speaker 1: knowledge concerning the matters into which plaintiff is entitled to inquire. Moreover,
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  Speaker 1: whereas the government asserts that it's aware of no case
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  Speaker 1: since Morgan decided in 1941, in which a high-ranking official
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  Speaker 1: has been deposed in a civil litigation, plaintiffs face no
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  Speaker 1: such difficulty finding such a case. For example, in 1980,
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  Speaker 1: in the case of Carey v. Klutznik, Judge Worker ordered
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  Speaker 1: the Commerce Secretary, Philip M. Klutznik, to come to New
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  Speaker 1: York for a deposition after the government has been obstructive.
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  Speaker 1: The question is therefore not whether such a deposition can
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  Speaker 1: be ordered, but whether the case presents the circumstances that
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  Speaker 1: justify one. For the foregoing reasons, Blanche should be compelled
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  Speaker 1: to appear for a deposition given his unique personal knowledge. B.
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  Speaker 1: The records show bad faith. which independently justifies inquiry, beyond
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  Speaker 1: the official record. The Supreme Court has recognized an exception
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  Speaker 1: to the general rule against ordering a deposition of sitting
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  Speaker 1: high-ranking officials. Department of Commerce v. New York, 2019. On
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  Speaker 1: a strong showing of a bad faith or improper behavior,
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  Speaker 1: such inquiry may be warranted and may justify discovery beyond
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  Speaker 1: the record the government offers. In Department of Commerce, the
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court ultimately did not foreclose deposing a cabinet official
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  Speaker 1: on such a showing. Plaintiffs there challenged the reinstatement of
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  Speaker 1: a citizenship question on a 2020 census questionnaire. Upon finding
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  Speaker 1: evidence that the Secretary of Commerce lied about his rationale
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  Speaker 1: for including the question, The District Court ordered his deposition
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  Speaker 1: as well as other extra record discovery. On review, the
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court ordered his deposition as well as other extra
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  Speaker 1: recorded discovery. On review, the Supreme Court stayed the Secretary's
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  Speaker 1: deposition pending further review, but did not hold that it
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  Speaker 1: was impermissible. On the merits, the Court reaffirmed the bad
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  Speaker 1: faith exception and held that courts reviewing government action are
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  Speaker 1: not required to be naive from which ordinary citizens are free.
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  Speaker 1: Where the record contradicts or undercuts the government's account, a
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  Speaker 1: court need not accept that account at face value. The
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  Speaker 1: standard is met here. Blanche's acknowledgement of the FBI's failure,
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  Speaker 1: the withholding of the FBI records, in this case, and
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  Speaker 1: the releasing of the files, failing to redact victims' names
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  Speaker 1: and redacting abusers' names, instead demonstrates another reason and the
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  Speaker 1: need for this deposition. Blanche's statement as the United States
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  Speaker 1: Attorney General goes to a contested element of the case.
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  Speaker 1: The government contends that no mandatory directive governed by the
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  Speaker 1: FBI's response and agents acted within their discretion. The head
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  Speaker 1: of the department has said the exact opposite. That contradiction
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  Speaker 1: is at the center of the jurisdictional dispute, and only
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  Speaker 1: Blanche can explain it. See, Blanche has unique first-hand knowledge
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  Speaker 1: of his own statement and conduct. Both Kessler and Jackson
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  Speaker 1: turn on whether other witnesses can supply the information. Kessler,
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  Speaker 1: 985 at 512. Jackson, 624 at 1372. Here, they cannot.
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  Speaker 1: Any designee would have no knowledge of how and why
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  Speaker 1: Blanche concluded that the FBI failed to properly investigate. The
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  Speaker 1: only dispute here is did the FBI have discretion to
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  Speaker 1: ignore complaints of child sex abuse and child pornography? According
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  Speaker 1: to Blanche, the answer is no. Since Blanche is the
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  Speaker 1: only employee of the defendant who's made these statements, he's
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  Speaker 1: the one with unique and personal knowledge that the FBI
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  Speaker 1: failed to properly investigate and that the FBI did not
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  Speaker 1: have discretion. No questions will take place as to matters
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  Speaker 1: of national security or matters not relevant to the proceedings
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  Speaker 1: at law. But Blanche made these statements to Epstein victims
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  Speaker 1: as to the heart of the matter, and they are
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  Speaker 1: the central part of the case now. D. All alternatives
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  Speaker 1: are exhausted. The government has not provided jurisdictional discovery requested
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  Speaker 1: and has expressed an inability to locate a witness familiar
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  Speaker 1: with the request. In addition as to Blanche's statements, there
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  Speaker 1: are no alternatives in the deposition of Blanche's reasonable, relevant,
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  Speaker 1: and permissible. This subpoena should not be quashed and Blanche's
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  Speaker 1: deposition should be scheduled to be held in the next
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  Speaker 1: 14 days. Conclusion. For the foregoing reasons, plaintiff respectfully requests
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  Speaker 1: that the court deny the government's motion to quash. compel
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  Speaker 1: compliance with the subpoena and order Blanche to appear for
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  Speaker 1: a deposition within 14 days. This was signed by Jennifer
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  Speaker 1: Plotkin and it was dated November 3rd, 2026. All the
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  Speaker 1: information that goes with this episode can be found in
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  Speaker 1: the description box.