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Todd Blanche, the Epstein Files and the Survivors Left Behind · The Epstein Chronicles

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What's up everyone and welcome to another episode of the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Epstein Chronicles. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is preparing for
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: his confirmation vote. And as we get closer to the date,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: there's still a lot of people out there that don't
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: believe that he's fit for the office. And I'm certainly
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: one of them. But when you have people that have
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: actually been abused by Jeffrey Epstein coming out against your confirmation,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: I would say that that's pretty much a scarlet letter.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: And in a world where there was still some morality left,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: we wouldn't even be having this conversation because Todd Blanche
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: would have never been nominated. But unfortunately, this is the
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: world we live in. So today, we have an article
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: from USA Today, and it's an editorial that was written
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: by Danny Bensky. Headline, I'm an Epstein survivor. Todd Blanche
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: isn't fit. to be Trump's AG. This article was authored
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: by Danny Bensky. More than 20 years ago, when I
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: was a 17-year-old aspiring ballerina in New York City, I
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: met Jeffrey Epstein. My mother was seriously ill, and I
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: was young and scared. Epstein recognized that vulnerability and exploited it.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: He presented himself as someone who could help, then use
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: my age, dreams, and my family circumstances to manipulate and
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: sexually abuse me. And this was how he acted, right?
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: This was his MO. He would find these girls that
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: had vulnerabilities. He would weasel his way in. And then
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: he'd take over, almost like a parasite. And these women,
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: these girls, they ended up getting stuck. A lot of
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: them became reliable on his help. And it just became
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: this vicious cycle of him abusing them over and over again.
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: Until for some of these women, it became normalized. And
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: that's where you get to people like Sarah Kellan. That's
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: where you get to people like Nadia, you know, where
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: this was normalized behavior for them. And then you have
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: these 17-year-old girls come in and they see all these
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: posh people. And that's what's going on at Jeffrey Epstein's properties. Well,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: these girls think that that's what they're supposed to do.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: And we've seen that and heard that time and time
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: again from these women and girls that got caught up.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: For years, I carried what happened largely on my own. Then,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: other survivors of Epstein's trafficking network began coming forward, and
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: I found hope in knowing that I was not alone.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: Over time, our individual stories grew into a movement demanding accountability.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: That movement helped lead to the passage of the Epstein
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: Files Transparency Act, which we believed would finally expose the
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: full scope of Epstein's crimes and the people who enabled them.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Wouldn't that have been nice? An actual accounting of what happened?
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Not a whitewashing, not protection of Jeffrey Epstein's buddies, not
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: a reveal of the women, but an actual accounting of
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: what happened. But instead, we get this shit show. What
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: happened instead was alarming. The Department of Justice released survivor
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: names and other personally identifying information. This included nude images
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: that showed young women, possibly teenagers, with their faces visible.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: My name, phone number, former addresses, where I worked and
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: studied at the time, and accounts of abuse were all
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: made public. None of that was supposed to occur. Okay?
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: That wasn't up to the DOJ to share these women's stories.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: They have no problem sharing their stories, but they're real
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: protective of the people that were involved with Epstein. Ask
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: yourself why. I'm sure it has nothing to do with
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: the fact that the people that were involved are paying
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: all the bills. All the scumbag bankers, the financial sector idiots,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: and all the other people who are behind the scenes
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: really pulling the strings. He who controls the purse controls
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: the kingdom. And if you think anybody's controlling the purse,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: besides Epstein's friends, you're not paying attention. At the same time,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: the names of alleged abusers, enablers, and other powerful people
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: connected to Epstein remained hidden throughout the files. The redactions
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: were so extensive that a federal judge ordered the DOJ
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: to explain them or remove them. How'd that work out?
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: They don't care what judges say. They don't care what
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: the court says. They're going to do whatever they want.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: And that's because there's no ramifications. Nobody's going to prison.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: Nobody's getting hemmed up. Nobody's having their door kicked in,
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: like the local drug dealer. Just as alarming, more than
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: a thousand women and girls were abused, yet no one
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: beyond Epstein and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been prosecuted.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Rather than pursuing leads, beyond his interview with Maxwell or
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: prosecuting anyone else, Then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche appears to
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: have been huddled in the White House Situation Room helping
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: manage the political and public relations fallout from the release
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: of the Epstein files. Instead of clandestine meetings, how about
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: you pursue Jeffrey Epstein's associates? How about we go after
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: the NPA? How about we go after the people that
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: helped him violate that NPA? Any interest in that, Todd
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: baby Billy Blanche, or not? Taken together, the failures paint
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: a deeply troubling picture. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi testified
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: to a congressional committee that Blanche was in charge of
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: the Epstein files release. These failures fall on his shoulders.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Now Blanche is up for a promotion to Attorney General,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: the country's top law enforcement officer. Yo, imagine being handed
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: a project at work, and the shit turns out disastrous,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: and then you're up for a promotion? Zero chance in
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: the private sector that that ever happens. But Blanche serves
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: a purpose, and that purpose is to protect Trump. I
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: know people don't want to hear that shit, and I
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: know people will be like, oh, it's Trump derangement syndrome,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: save it. I don't give a fuck, okay? I'm going
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: to call them how I see them. And no amount
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: of emotional terrorism is ever going to get me to
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: change my opinion or to fall into line. During my
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 16th, I
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: told senators that Blanche had refused my repeated request for
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: a meeting for nearly nine months. Although he has said
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: he met with representatives of 30 accusers, he didn't meet
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: with me or any survivors I know. Well, Blanche is
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: a liar. He didn't want to meet with the survivors,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: so he tried to act like he couldn't. Like he
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: was barred from doing it. Oh, well, if they have representation,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: I can't meet with them. Yes, you can. All they
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: have to do is waive their right to representation. Or
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: maybe bring their lawyer with them. I mean, he really
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: thinks that you're stupid. That's what it comes down to.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: And I know I say that all the time, but
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: it's worth repeating. These people have zero respect for your
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: intelligence or your discernment. And they think they could just
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: say whatever and you're going to get along to go along. Now,
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: that's going to work on the base, right? There's a
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: certain portion of the country that's going to get along
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: to go along because Todd Blanche told them so. And
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: he's Donald Trump's guy. But the rest of us, well,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: we have some concerns. And I think that when you're
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: dealing with somebody like Todd Blanche, who has been dishonest
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: with the American people, has been involved directly in a cover-up,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: I don't know why people are shocked that this dude's
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: getting a bunch of pushback, especially from the survivors. During
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: that same period, he met with Maxwell for nine hours
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: before she was moved to a low-security prison. In his
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: own testimony, Blanche claimed there was no evidence to support
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: additional prosecutions beyond Epstein and Maxwell. despite the investigative leads,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: survivor testimony, and other records already contained in the files.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: And that's true. The files are littered with hints of crimes,
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: circumstantial evidence, and straight-up financial malfeasance. Has anybody pursued that?
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Has anybody even went after the low-hanging fruit? Of course not.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: So what makes anyone think that they're going to go
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: after powerful people like Leon Black or Les Wexner? After
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: my testimony, Senator Tom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, seemed moved.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: He said he cannot support Blanche confirmation until Blanche met
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: with survivors directly. And look, Mr. Tillis, you're on your
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: way out the door. I think you should do something
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: heroic here and tell Todd Blanche to get fucked. That
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: would be fantastic. Will he do it? I highly doubt it.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: But I would, especially if I got forced out by
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Trump and his band of merry men. Only then did
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: Blanche's team scramble to arrange a meeting, as my fellow
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: survivors and I, exhausted from days of travel and advocacy,
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: were preparing to leave Washington. We rearranged our schedules and
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: hurried to make sure our lawyers could attend. The meeting
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: that followed was, by any honest account, a box-checking exercise
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: to secure Tillis' vote. Blanche offered no meaningful explanation for
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: how the redaction failures happened, who approved the release, or
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: what steps he would take to prevent survivors from being
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: exposed again. He made no commitment to investigate or prosecute
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: anyone beyond Epstein and Maxwell. That's because he's a coward.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Straight up. And anyone supporting Todd Blanche, I have questions
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: about you, too. Because this man has shown us exactly
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: what he is, and it's certainly not a hard-charging lawman. Instead,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: we were told to take our information to the FBI.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: We've already done that. Survivors have reported what happened, provided evidence...
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: and retold the most painful experiences of our lives to
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: law enforcement for decades. Telling us to start over was
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: not a plan for accountability. There was no attempt to
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: work with us. It was another way to dismiss us. Today,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: I'm a teacher and a mother. I would not find
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Blanche's refusal to take accountability acceptable in my students or
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: my child. I can't even believe this is a debate, honestly.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: And it shows us just how far we have fallen.
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: The country deserves an Attorney General who listens to survivors,
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: holds predators accountable, and keeps their children safe. Blanche has
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: shown us that he is not that person. Tillis asked
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Blanche to meet with us because the Senator understood that
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: survivors deserved answers. We met with him in good faith,
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: but he didn't do the same. A meeting alone cannot
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: become a substitute for accountability, and checking a box should
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: not be enough to secure the Senator's vote. I hope Mr.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Tillis reads this. Do I think it would move him?
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: I don't know, but I hope he reads it. My
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: message to Tillis is simple. If you hoped Blanche would
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: offer survivors real accountability by meeting with us, he did not.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: If you had hoped this meeting would resolve our concerns,
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: it did not. And if your support for his confirmation
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: depends on his ability to treat survivors of human trafficking
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: and sexual assault with honesty and respect, then you, and
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: every senator, should vote no on Blanche for Attorney General.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: So look, again, I don't know how this is even
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: a conversation at this point, but here we are. So
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: we'll have to see what the Senate does, but I'm
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: not very confident that they're going to not vote to
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: confirm Todd Blanche. So we'll keep an eye on it.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: And like everything else in this sordid story, when we
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: have some more information, we'll get it added to the catalog.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: All the information that goes with this episode can be
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: found in the description box below.