Thirty-one advocates and survivors of sex trafficking have written to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) opposing the nomination of Todd Blanche as the next US attorney general.
Tillis is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which considers the president’s nominations for attorney general and federal judgeships.
“Crime victims in North Carolina and across the country deserve an attorney general whose allegiance is to the rule of law alone. Based on Mr. Blanche’s record, we do not believe he has demonstrated the independence required for that office,” a portion of the letter reads.
Since April, Blanche has served as acting attorney general, and in early June, was nominated by President Donald Trump to take the role permanently.
Blanche previously worked at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for nearly 15 years and later served as Trump’s personal defense attorney in his criminal cases before Trump returned to office in 2024.
Why advocates and survivors are opposing Blanche
The letter to Tillis extensively details the signers’ frustration with Blanche’s handling of documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficking network that spanned several decades.
“More than 1,000 victims have been identified in one of the largest sex trafficking operations in American history, yet only two individuals have been held criminally accountable,” they said. “Survivors have continued to come forward, provide information, and request further investigation, only to see their concerns met with inaction.”
Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Nov. 19, 2025. Trump signed the measure into law, directing the Department of Justice to create a searchable database of files related to the investigation into Epstein, as well as his accomplice and former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, within 30 days.
Epstein was found dead on Aug. 10, 2019, in a New York City jail while he was being held on federal charges of sex trafficking involving minors. His death was officially ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner and the Department of Justice, though the circumstances surrounding his death have drawn public skepticism.
According to a Change Research poll, 75% of those polled believe Epstein was murdered as opposed to dying by suicide.
Maxwell was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in Epstein’s trafficking network.
The DOJ began releasing a limited number of files on Dec. 19 of last year, and said only half of the 6 million documents collected as part of the Epstein investigation would be released.
Blanche signaled to Fox News in April that the Epstein Files would not be a priority for his office.
“I think that, to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it should not be a part of anything going forward,” Blanche said.
The advocates and survivors expressed their concerns to Tillis about Blanche’s handling of the release of the documents, citing reporting from MeidasTouch that the FBI trained those redacting the files to remove references to Trump.
“Under Mr. Blanche’s leadership, the Department of Justice released records containing significant redaction failures that exposed crime victims’ names and identifying information while continuing to withhold key information about alleged perpetrators and other powerful individuals,” the letter states.
The DOJ under Blanche and his predecessor, Pam Bondi, has also been accused of withholding documents related to Trump and his decades-long relationship with Epstein. The president is mentioned over 38,000 times in the documents released by the DOJ thus far.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to the Epstein investigation and has never been charged with a crime in relation to it.
Cardinal & Pine asked Tillis’ office whether he would ask Blanche about his decision not to release the full, unredacted files and whether or not that inaction would affect the senator’s vote.
At the time of publication, Tillis’ office has not responded.
COURIER Newsroom has compiled the released Epstein Files into a searchable database here.
