At a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on May 19, 2026, Sen. Chris Van Hollen told Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Epstein survivors were “extremely frustrated that you keep calling for people to come forward with more evidence, but you have not met with them to hear their stories,” and asked whether Blanche would meet with them. Blanche replied, “Absolutely. And what you just said is false. I have met with them. I've met with many of the lawyers for the survivors of victims, as did Attorney General Bondi,” as The New Republic transcribed it (The Guardian's transcription differs slightly). Van Hollen answered that this group had not had a chance to meet with him.
The same day, a group of Epstein survivors (17 according to The Guardian and HuffPost, 18 according to The New Republic) issued a statement contradicting him: “Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not met with any of us. As survivors, we previously sought a meeting with former Attorney General Bondi and Department of Justice officials, but no meeting occurred.” They also rejected the idea that the burden was on them to keep producing evidence: “It is on the DOJ to investigate credible allegations against perpetrators and co-conspirators, and to account for the government's mishandling of these matters.”
The dispute pits the acting head of the Justice Department, Trump's former personal criminal defense lawyer, against survivors of Epstein's abuse. Blanche's answer mixed two claims: that he had met “them” and that he had met many of the survivors' lawyers. The survivors' statement addresses the first. Blanche later said department officials had spoken with more than 30 representatives of the women during their review of the Epstein files.
Update (October 2, 2026): On July 14, Sens. Patty Murray and Van Hollen wrote to Blanche that nearly two months after he answered “Absolutely” at the hearing, the survivors had still not received the promised outreach, despite the senators' offices providing a point of contact. Blanche met with a group of Epstein accusers for about an hour on July 16, hours after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said the meeting had to happen before Blanche could earn his vote for confirmation as attorney general, the Associated Press reported. Survivor Dani Bensky called it “a mere 'check-the-box' exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”
Correction (October 2, 2026): The entry said Blanche lied “under oath” and that eighteen “named” survivors issued their statement on May 20. No source in the record establishes that Blanche was sworn at this appropriations hearing, so the under-oath claim was removed from the title and text; outlets differ on whether 17 or 18 survivors signed; and the statement was issued May 19, the day of the hearing. Blanche's quotation was completed, and the claim that the administration “largely withheld” the Epstein files was removed because the department has released millions of documents.