Former Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that Todd Blanche, who at the time was second in command at the Justice Department, was put in charge of the release of the millions of documents from the Epstein files during her closed-door hearing before Congress late last month. "As the head of a large department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort nor conduct that document review myself," Bondi said during the hearing."I delegated that oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche." The House Oversight Committee released its transcript from Bondi's May 29 hearing just a day after President Donald Trump announced he intended to nominate Blanche as his permanent attorney general nominee, potentially complicating Blanche's confirmation as senators on both sides of the political aisle have heavily criticized the files' rollout.Blanche has been serving as Acting Attorney General since April 2, when Trump announced Bondi's dismissal.LAPSED EPSTEIN DEADLINE UNDERSCORES CHALLENGE OF REVIEWING TROVES OF FILES IN 30 DAYSActing U.S.
Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives to a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)The release of the transcript, which placed responsibility for the Epstein files rollout squarely on Blanche's shoulders, comes just days after Blanche announced during a hearing that the Justice Department will be eliminating its controversial Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was created to compensate alleged victims of politicized prosecution and labeled a "slush fund" for Trump and his supporters by critics.
The Justice Department's handling of the Epstein files and the Anti-Weaponization Fund, both overseen by Blanche, has drawn concern from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.Bondi's testimony revealed that Blanche had been her point m...