Epstein Survivors Blast Republican Rebels Over Blanche Vote

A GOP Senator who demanded Todd Blanche meet Epstein survivors in exchange for his support ended up canceling his own meeting with the women before he caved to Donald Trump.

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The extraordinary snub was recounted by survivors ahead of Tuesday’s crucial vote to advance Blanche’s nomination to be the next Attorney General.

Both had initially held out due to concerns about the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” slush fund Blanche helped create for the president. Tillis had also demanded Blanche meet with Epstein survivors to garner support for his nomination.

But in a statement on Tuesday morning, the group said that Blanche’s attitude at the meeting made it clear that this was a “check the box” exercise to appease Tillis.

“When we met with Todd, Blanche, he interrupted us. He told us to ‘get to the point’. He told us to report what happened to us to the FBI. We already have. Some of us have been reporting these crimes for decades,” they said.

However, they said that “the treatment we received from Senators throughout this process was just as revealing.”

“Senator Tillis publicly invited us on camera to come to his office and promise to meet with us. We did. We waited for 45 minutes in his lobby, only to be told by a staff member that he would not meet with us after all,” they said.

“Senator Cornyn also refused to hear directly from survivors before casting his vote. Senator Tillis and Cornyn were not willing to sit across from us and answer for the vote they were preparing to cast. If they believed they were doing the right thing they should have had the courage to look survivors in the eye and tell us why. The message was unmistakable: they wanted us to go away.”

The Daily Beast has asked Tillis for a response to the statement, which was signed by 18 survivors of Epstein, including Dani Bensky, Ashley Rubright, Jess Michaels, Liz Stein, and the family of the late Virginia Guiffre.

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Cornyn, meanwhile, said that what happened to the women was a “tragedy,” but “I don’t believe there’s anything we could do to assuage them at this point.”

“We need to continue to help them every we can; I just think that’s one of those things that cannot be remedied by a ‘no’ vote,” he said.

Both Senators appeared at Tuesday’s hearing to cast their vote in favor of Blanche, a day after securing what they believed was a significant concession from the administration: the formal cancellation of a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and written assurances narrowing tax audit protection included in Trump’s settlement with the IRS.

But the victory lap was immediately overshadowed by criticism that a controversial agreement shielding Trump, his family and his businesses from IRS scrutiny remains. The only difference is that it now applies proactively, rather than serving as a blanket safeguard against all future audits.

What’s more, all parties, including Trump, are also required to sign the latest agreement in order for it to be fully rescinded. That has not yet happened.

This has fueled accusations that Cornyn and Tillis effectively caved, allowing Trump to move forward with Blanche’s nomination while leaving the president with one of the settlement’s most controversial benefits.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Tillis said he was satisfied the slush fund had been rescinded, and noted that “weaponization” of the Justice Department was not just a problem for one party alone.

“Everybody has this view that they are as pure as the driven snow and it’s the other side that has a problem. I think we both have a problem, folks,” he said.