Pam Bondi claims Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of ‘entire release’ of Epstein files

Pam Bondi arrives on Capitol Hill for her deposition last week. Photograph: Manuel Ceneta/AP View image in fullscreen Pam Bondi arrives on Capitol Hill for her deposition last week. Photograph: Manuel Ceneta/AP Pam Bondi claims Todd Blanche was ‘in charge’ of ‘entire release’ of Epstein files Blanche, whom Trump plans to nominate to replace ex-attorney general, served as Bondi’s deputy at DoJ Former attorney general Pam Bondi told lawmakers that Todd Blanche, the man Donald Trump has lined up to replace her, was “in charge” of the US Department of Justice’s controversial handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Appearing before the House oversight and reform committee, which is investigating the late financier and convicted sex offender, Bondi also said she was “not certain of the extent” Trump knew about the crimes of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Epstein who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking crimes, before they became public. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, claimed in a statement on Thursday that Trump had been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein” when contacted for comment on Bondi’s testimony. Blanche, who served as Bondi’s deputy at the justice department, was responsible for the “entire release of the Epstein files”, Bondi claimed, according to a transcript released by the committee on Thursday. Blanche was appointed as acting attorney general following Bondi’s ouster, and Trump said this week he planned to nominate him for the role permanently . Last week, Bondi faced questions about the justice department handling of the Epstein files during her tenure. Her appearance came as the department continues to face scrutiny over the files,and its compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated the release of Epstein-related records held by the department. The department has maintained it acted in accordance with the law. Several lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, as well as survivors of Epstein’s abuse, have criticized some of the department’s actions and raised concerns over certain redactions and the disclosure of sensitive personal information in the files. In her opening statement and throughout her testimony, Bondi defended the DoJ’s handling of the records under her leadership, at the same time as working to distance herself from the release and review of the files, saying that she did not “lead every aspect” of the department’s effort, but that it was Blanche, her former deputy attorney general, who is now acting attorney general, who oversaw it. “He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” she told lawmakers on 29 May . In her opening statement, she also said that she did not “conduct that document review myself” and told the panel that she “delegated oversight over this process” to Blanche. Bondi acknowledged “there were redaction errors” in the release, but insisted that “since day one of this process, this depa