Todd Blanche Accused by Democrats of Obstructing Epstein Probe to Shield Trump

Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have accused Attorney General Todd Blanche of possible criminal obstruction in his handling of records connected to Jeffrey Epstein. They are calling for an independent special counsel to investigate Blanche and President Donald Trump, according to the article. An unsigned staff report of more than 50 pages alleged that Blanche may have acted to protect Trump as the Epstein files were reviewed and released. The report claimed the Justice Department made efforts to prevent Trump’s name from emerging in the documents. These are allegations made by the report, not findings established in court. The Democrats also questioned Blanche’s meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, saying it could potentially amount to witness tampering or obstruction of an official proceeding. The report alleged that Blanche instructed Maxwell not to discuss a particular Epstein victim and how that person might implicate Trump. The article does not include Blanche’s response to those claims. The controversy comes amid continuing disputes over the release of the Epstein records. Trump had promised during his campaign to make the files a priority. After taking office, his administration faced criticism over delays, redactions and disagreements between Justice Department and FBI officials. Congress later passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, setting a deadline for disclosure, but the deadline was not met, the article says. A federal judge ruled in June that the Justice Department was violating the law by failing to produce certain unredacted and foreign-language documents. The department is appealing. Trump has denied being connected to Epstein’s crimes, while the report cited by Democrats alleges a greater role for him in Epstein’s abuse of young women in the 1990s. The claims remain disputed.