Todd Blanche Tells Senate Judiciary Committee DOJ Will Pursue New Epstein-Linked Suspects If Evidence Emerges

Todd Blanche told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the Justice Department has no "closed investigations" into Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking network and that prosecutors stand ready to pursue any individual who can be criminally linked to Epstein if new evidence comes forward. "If we learn today, if we learn next week, if we learn next month that there's an individual that we can investigate, indict and prosecute out of the Epstein files, you better believe it, we will," Blanche said.

Blanche drew a distinction between the DOJ's completed review of existing Epstein files — which concluded in July 2025 under then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and found no evidence of a so-called client list — and the department's ongoing authority to bring new criminal cases. He said DOJ officials had met with representatives of more than 30 victims since the review began and pledged that the department would "never not talk to victims." He also said that while prosecutors had found evidence women were trafficked by Epstein, they had not found evidence those women were trafficked to other men, while stressing that "does not mean it didn't happen." Sen. Cory Booker pressed Blanche on whether a July 2025 interview with Ghislaine Maxwell had produced new charges or investigations; Blanche said it had not led to charges and declined to address whether new investigations resulted. Blanche also denied that any discussion of a presidential pardon, clemency, or Maxwell's subsequent transfer to a minimum-security prison camp occurred during that interview.

The Trump IRS settlement and a proposed $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund emerged as the most legally complicated issue of the hearing. The fund arose from a settlement of Trump's lawsuit over the unlawful leak of his tax returns by former contractor Charles Littlejohn. On the Monday before the hearing, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that Trump could not use the settlement to shield past tax filings from audit scrutiny, finding that Trump and his own administration's IRS were not genuinely adverse parties; she also sanctioned attorneys involved and referred the matter to disciplinary authorities. Blanche told the committee the fund "is dead" — no money was transferred and no commissioners were appointed — but acknowledged the underlying settlement document remains enforceable, leaving open the question of whether its terms could be invoked by other plaintiffs.