Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced sharp criticism on Tuesday during a House Appropriations Committee hearing over the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein Files. Representative Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) accused the DOJ of withholding more than 3 million documents related to the criminal investigation into the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Heated Exchange Over Transparency
The tense exchange began when Dean asked Blanche if the DOJ would comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bipartisan law signed by President Donald Trump in 2024. Blanche responded, "As I said to you when we spoke before, we have complied with the law." Dean quickly interjected, claiming that over 3 million documents remain unreleased. "There are 3 million more documents," Dean stated, adding that Blanche had previously told her the documents were "all duplicative" and involved another individual named Epstein.
Blanche denied making such a statement, but Dean refused to yield the floor. "I just gave you the answer you gave me," Dean said. "No, actually, it's my time, Mr. Chairman. I told him the answer he gave me, and now in public, he's trying to say something else."
Access Restrictions Questioned
Dean pressed further on why many unredacted files were only accessible to members of Congress at the DOJ. "What does it say in terms of transparency?" she asked. "It says that they should be made publicly available." Blanche countered, "And they were, they were." However, Dean rejected this, noting that her time had expired but demanding to continue. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Chairman," she said, displaying notes from her visits to the DOJ. "What rules are we operating under? Because he's under a little bit of heat for not prosecuting anyone in these monstrous crimes."
Dean concluded by asserting that President Trump had lied about being on Epstein's plane, citing the unredacted files as proof. "I've been in the room, I've been there. This is what I had to do to transcribe to show what is true. What is true is that the president has lied about being on Epstein's plane, and the unredacted files prove that."
