Welcome back to The Red Letter.
This morning, senators from both parties questioned President Trump’s former defense attorney Todd Blanche about his handling of the Epstein files, a controversy that has dogged his tenure as Deputy Attorney General, alongside the now-defunct $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
The first part of the hearing was notable not just for what Blanche was asked, but for what he wasn’t.
During the hearing, I texted with an Epstein survivor who said it was painful to hear Blanche testify that a female prosecutor in his office would meet with victims as long as they had counsel. They have counsel—and have repeatedly sought meetings with the Justice Department without success. This survivor also said they want to meet with the person ultimately responsible for the department’s handling of the Epstein files: Todd Blanche himself. Jane Doe 1 sat quietly in the hearing room in protest.
For all the political attention surrounding the Epstein files, the questioning itself was surprisingly restrained. Republicans appeared intent on acknowledging the issue without dwelling on it—a sign that the Epstein controversy has become politically unavoidable, even if few senators wanted to press Blanche aggressively.
There were also questions I wish had been asked, including about Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s reporting in Regime Change that Blanche discussed the possibility of a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell if she publicly cleared Trump’s name.
Blanche also offered a personal narrative, describing his “American dream” — working as a paralegal to becoming one of the country’s highest-profile defense attorneys. What went unmentioned was that Trump’s Save America PAC paid Blanche’s law firm nearly $10 million between March 2024 and December 2024 to represent the president in his criminal cases.
Watch my full breakdown for what happened inside the hearing room, survivor reactions, and the questions never answered.
Thank you Lev Parnas, Ashleigh Alauren, Abi Baker, Noble Blend, Bre Phillips, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
