Ted Lieu calls Todd Blanche a 'national disgrace', warns of legal consequences

After a group of Jeffrey Epstein survivors came out in opposition to Todd Blanche's nomination, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu issued a three-part warning to the Acting Attorney General over the allegations of a cover-up. Calling him a "national disgrace," Lieu appeared confident that his party would win the midterms and Blanche would soon be held accountable. 

President Donald Trump's nomination of Blanche for permanent attorney general was recently opposed by 19 survivors of crimes by the late sex offender and disgraced financier. In a statement obtained by CNN, the women responded to The New York Times's reporting that Blanche and other senior officials participated in Situation Room meetings to discuss how to tackle the pressure for more transparency over the release of the documents linking Trump and Epstein and contain the potential public relations crisis for the administration. Sharing the statement on X, Lieu issued a direct warning to Blanche, calling for action against him.

"The Acting AG, @DAGToddBlanche, is a national disgrace," Lieu wrote. He added that his actions in covering up the Epstein Files and protecting the president are unethical and likely illegal. "He will be disbarred. He will be investigated. And if the facts warrant it, he will be prosecuted. November is coming," Lieu wrote, referring to the upcoming mid-term elections in which Democrats look poised to take control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.

The comments came after the New York Times on Wednesday released a bombshell report on how the Trump administration gathered to strategize for the release of the Epstein Files. According to the publication's insider information, Blanche had a key role to play in the discussions as Trump's former defense attorney and the deputy attorney general at the time. The report suggested it was Blanche who floated the idea to blame the federal courts for not unsealing documents for the partial release. 

On Thursday, the survivors released a joint statement expressing concern over the nomination of Blanche to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. “We are especially concerned that Todd Blanche, the person nominated for the highest law enforcement position in the country, was at that table. Blanche has consistently minimized legitimate concerns about how the files have been handled, including problematic redactions and the exposure of survivors' personal information. Blanche failed to deliver transparency, and he has gravely failed survivors. This is failing upward, plain and simple," they wrote.

Blanche has repeatedly distanced himself from the handling of the files, and he has insisted that it is a matter of the past and that the Department of Justice had nothing to do with the documents, moving forward. "Look, the Epstein files have been a saga that's lasted for the entire past year, and what happened when the President signed the transparency act is the Department of Justice has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga and the attorney general," he said in an interview with Fox News's Jesse Watters in April. "And so I think that to the extent that the Epstein files were a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward." Democrats have also opposed Blanche's nomination, and his confirmation looks difficult as some Republicans are in conflict with his actions as well, especially regarding the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund.