At the hearing, Durbin says 10 Epstein survivors are in the room and none have been able to speak with anyone at the Justice Department or FBI despite repeated requests. Asked for his word under oath to personally meet them within 30 days, Blanche offers his human trafficking task force head instead, then says that if they have lawyers he's prohibited from meeting them directly.
The receipt
- Who
- Todd Blanche
- Where
- hearing - Blanche's confirmation hearing for attorney general
- Original footage
- CNN · watch the full video from this moment
- Length
- 56 seconds, unedited within the cut
- Plays
- 155 on Instagram
Read the transcript
There are 10 individuals who were exploited and abused by Mr. Epstein. They are here today. None of them have had a chance to speak to anyone in the department or FBI though they've asked repeatedly. So can I get your word under oath that within the next 30 days you will personally sit down with these 10 victims and hear their case in terms of what needs to be done by the Department of Justice. I Chairman, I appreciate them being here today. I also have somebody from my office who's spent her entire career working on cases like Mr. Epstein. She's in charge of our task force investigating human trafficking. She's available to talk to them. She can sit right next to you. She can sit right next to you when you meet with these survivors. I have never said I will not meet with survivors. Will you meet with these 10 survivors? I'm asking you on the record. If they have lawyers, as you know, I'm prohibited from meeting directly with them.
Machine transcript of the clip's audio; names are checked, small words may differ.