Epstein survivor says meeting with Blanche felt like he just wanted to ‘check the box’

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's path to become the nation's top law enforcement officer may now hinge on a meeting he's now had with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse

Blanche returned to Capitol Hill Thursday for a second day of his confirmation hearings, where Republican Senator Tom Tillis said he won't vote to advance the nomination until Blanche meets face to face with Epstein's survivors

Tillis says he's, quote, trying to get to yes, but called the meeting essential before the Senate Judiciary Committee takes up the nomination in the coming weeks

And because it seemed to me that Mr. Blanche was willing to say that he would meet with them and counsel, I understand the restriction, the counsel has to be present

I expect that meeting to occur before I'm willing to vote out of this committee. And I'm trying to get to yes, but this is a very important part of getting to yes

The issue gained new attention Thursday after Epstein survivor Danny Benske testified that she and other victims repeatedly asked to meet with Justice Department leaders but never received a meeting After leaving the hearing Blanche told reporters he rearranged his schedule

to meet with survivors, though an earlier attempt to get together did not work out

Because the Department of Justice will always meet with victims or their representatives

And if those victims or their representatives have evidence that anybody committed a crime

whether it has to do with Jeffrey Epstein, anybody else that was associated with Jeffrey Epstein

or anybody else. We will, of course, move forward and investigate and prosecute. So

that's what we're going to do. I expect that there'll be a time that works for

their representatives, and we'll go from there. That meeting was later held Thursday afternoon

at Justice Department headquarters, where Blanche met with survivors, their attorneys, FBI agents, and victim services representatives for about an hour. Afterwards, the Justice

Department called the discussion productive and said Blanche encourages anyone with new

evidence to come forward. But several survivors said the meeting left them disappointed

with Danny Benski calling it, quote, a check-in-the-box exercise, and Annie Farmer urging senators to vote against his confirmation