United States Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's experience undercuts his excuse for not properly handling the release of the Epstein files, according to a former Watergate prosecutor Friday.
Nick Akerman, a former assistant special Watergate prosecutor and former assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, appeared on CNN the day after Christmas to discuss the release of Epstein files some have said was rushed and in violation of law.
Asked about the DOJ's latest excuse that they were surprised by the disclosure of one million files related to Epstein, Akerman called it "total nonsense."
"They had to know that these files existed right from the get go. First of all, we know that prior to may of this year, Pam Bondi had lots of FBI agents going through all of these files to determine whether President Trump's name was in these documents. So she knew where the documents were," he said. "But on top of that, even more glaring is the fact that all of these documents they had to know were in the Southern District of New York that prosecuted the Maxwell and Epstein criminal cases. Why is that? Because when you're a prosecutor, you are obliged. You are commanded to return over to the defense. Exculpatory evidence under a Supreme Court decision known as Brady. And in order to do that, you have to get every file that's in the federal government, whether it's in the FAA or some other agency. They have to be under your control so you can comply with your Brady obligations. And certainly Todd Blanche, who is in charge of this whole matter, was a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. He should have known that. So they had to know that these were there. There's no excuse for it."
