'He belongs in jail': Dem lawmaker erupts on Blanche over Epstein files, AG confirmation vote

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz) tore into Acting Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche during an appearance on MS NOW on Thursday, July 16, declaring that "Todd Blanche should go to jail" as scrutiny over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case intensified.

Host Alicia Menendez asked Ansari to respond to testimony from Epstein survivors before Congress during Blanche's confirmation process to become attorney general.

"We've learned this morning that Sen Thom Tillis says he still has reservations about this nomination, that he will not vote to confirm unless he gets a commitment, and you have Blanche actually meeting with some of these survivors. Any indication, to your knowledge, that that commitment has been made?" Menendez asked.

“I am so in awe of Danny and all of the survivors who have been forced into this situation. Their lives have been upended because of Todd Blanche. I don’t trust Todd Blanche at all,” Ansari began.

Yassamin Ansari demands Todd Blanche face jail time

Ansari accused Blanche of remaining loyal to President Donald Trump rather than acting independently, arguing that he "cannot be trusted" to oversee the Justice Department.

"He is Donald Trump's attorney — technically his former personal defense attorney. But yesterday, as we heard in the confirmation hearing, he still called himself Donald Trump's lawyer. And they will do everything that they can to cover this up," she said.

Ansari also criticized Blanche's handling of the Epstein case, claiming he spent nine hours meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell while failing to meet with survivors.

"He was the one who was managing this entire situation. He is the one who has refused to release the entirety of the Epstein files," she said.

"He is the one who has doxed survivors and upended their entire lives by releasing their personal information," Ansari said, referring to the disclosure of information about anonymous Jane Does.

Calling Blanche "a monster," Ansari concluded, "Todd Blanche should go to jail. He belongs in jail. He should absolutely not be confirmed as the attorney general of the United States of America."

Tod Blanche meets survivors

Representative Ansari’s statement came after Todd Blanche’s Thursday meeting with several of Epstein’s survivors at the Justice Department.

After the meeting, Epstein survivor Annie Farmer said in a statement to ABC News that she is "even more confident in urging senators to vote against his confirmation as the United States' attorney general."

"I found him abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal to survivors - a marked contrast to his public testimony during his confirmation hearing," said Farmer, who testified for the government at Ghislaine Maxwell's trial.