A Democratic lawmaker had sharp words for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Trump administration on Thursday — and vowed to take legal action.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) told MS NOW anchor Alicia Menendez that Blanche, who President Donald Trump nominated as attorney general, needs to face real consequences for his involvement in the Epstein files. She suggested that Vice President J.D. Vance and Blanche should face investigations over their involvement in concealing the files.
"This is the biggest coverup in American history," she said. "The White House's coverup of the Epstein files is so beyond shameful and there are so many people who need to be investigated and ultimately prosecuted for it. Let's not forget that J.D. Vance held a meeting in the White House Situation Room — this is a room where, historically, presidents convene national security experts to talk about matters of war and combatting terrorism."
Ansari described feeling in awe of Jeffrey Epstein's survivors and their courage following testimony from Dani Bensky. Bensky discussed how Blanche had not met with Epstein's victims or their representatives.
"Their lives have been upended because of Todd Blanche," she said. "I don't trust Todd Blanche at all. He is Donald Trump's attorney. He technically is his former personal defense attorney. But yesterday, as we heard in the confirmation hearing, he still called himself Donald Trump's lawyer. And they will do everything that they can to cover this up."
Blanche has been under oath in Congress, facing heated questions from lawmakers this week.
"We know that Todd Blanche met with Ghislaine Maxwell for nine hours," she said. "Dani laid this out very clearly in her testimony. He has not met with survivors. I would think that when Republican senators, at least one has made clear that he does need to do so. He may go through the motions. But Todd Blanche cannot be trusted. He was the one who was managing this entire situation. He is the one who has refused to release the entirety of the Epstein files. He is the one who has doxed survivors and upended their entire lives by releasing their personal information, unveiling information about Jane Doe's who now have to deal with the consequences of all of this when they didn't choose to.
"He's a monster. And Todd Blanche should go to jail — he belongs in jail. He should absolutely not be confirmed as the attorney general of the United States of America."