Deputy AG Blanche defends DOJ’s work on Epstein case ahead of closed-door Hill briefing
By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
(CNN) — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and asserted it does not have new evidence to prosecute anyone for crimes related to the convicted sex offender, in an interview released Tuesday.
“I’m not trying to defend Epstein. I’m not,” Blanche said in one exchange with Katie Miller, a former Trump administration spokesperson, on her podcast. “I do defend the work that that this department is doing today, right now, which is going after every single perpetrator anywhere. And if there’s a narrative that exists that we’re ignoring Epstein victims, that is false.”
Blanche’s comments come as he and Attorney General Pam Bondi are scheduled to brief members of Congress behind closed doors Wednesday on the investigation.
The Justice Department has been fiercely criticized for its handling of the Epstein files and has worked to fend off pressure from lawmakers and the public who still question how the investigation into the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier unfolded.
In the hourlong interview, Miller – who is married to Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff – pressed Blanche repeatedly to explain why the public should trust what the Justice Department says about its handling of the Epstein case.
Miller pushed Blanche on longstanding theories that still dominate online speculation – including whether Epstein was murdered in his jail cell or if the FBI was in possession of a list of clients he kept – but also to explain why the FBI appears to have little insight into cameras set up inside Epstein’s home, and why new cases were being brought abroad but not in the United States.
“How is it that the UK can do more on Prince Andrew than we can for any single one of these wealthy, elite billionaires and people in government, even, and not have one prosecution, not hold one person accountable,” Miller asked.
Blanche responded, “Well, because you need provable evidence. And so what I can do as the deputy general is invite anybody with evidence to come to the FBI and tell us, which is what we’ve been screaming from the rooftops for a year.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has previously denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and said that he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior of which the sex offender was accused.
Asked about cameras in Epstein’s home, Blanche said they were installed years after the initial investigation.
The deputy attorney general also dismissed other conspiracy theories, including: Epstein being connected to a foreign intelligence operation, the body wheeled out of Epstein’s cell actually being a body double, and Epstein being connected to the years-old “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory.
“You don’t believe ice cream is a coded word for something else,” Miller asked, referencing the Pizzagate theory, which claims people used code words to describe abuse.
“I’m not saying ice cream is never a coded word for something else,” Blanche said.
Miller, in rapid-fire questions, asked, “Do you believe in the files it refers to something sexual related to underage girls?”
“I think there was all kinds of references to sexual, to underage women in the files, which is why Epstein was such a disgusting man,” Blanche responded. “But that’s a different question. Do I believe that there’s any validity to the Pizzagate conspiracy? I do not.”
This story has been updated.
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