1:58Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche engages in a conversation with Pierre Thomas, Senior Justice Correspondent for ABC News.ABC News
The second-highest official in the Justice Department stated to ABC News in a Friday interview that there has been "no attempt" to obscure President Donald Trump's name from the release of documents related to federal investigations concerning convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was questioned on Friday by ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas regarding whether all documents mentioning Trump will be disclosed as the government proceeds with its rollout of hundreds of thousands of files over the following weeks.
"Provided it's in accordance with the law, yes," Blanche replied. "Thus, there's no intention to withhold anything due to the name Donald J. Trump or anyone else's name, Bill Clinton's name, Reid Hoffman's name. There's no intention to hold back or not hold back because of that and — and so — but once more, we're not, we're not redacting the names of notable individuals connected with Epstein."
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks with Pierre Thomas, Senior Justice Correspondent for ABC News.ABC News
When directly asked if there had been any directive to DOJ personnel to redact materials involving Trump, Blanche dismissed any such implication and accused Democratic lawmakers of utilizing selective disclosures from Epstein's estate to cast Trump in a negative light.
"President Trump has indeed asserted from the outset that he anticipates all files that can be disclosed to be made public, and that’s precisely what we’re doing," Blanche remarked.
Blanche participated in the interview just hours prior to the department unveiling its first batch of thousands of files, which contained limited information related to Trump and instead featured images of former President Bill Clinton without context, which were emphasized on social media by DOJ and White House representatives.
A spokesperson for Clinton accused the department of selectively revealing the images in a statement and denied that they indicated any misconduct by the former president.
"The White House hasn't been concealing these files for months only to release them late on a Friday to safeguard Bill Clinton," Clinton's spokesperson Angel Urena stated on Friday. "They may release as many unclear 20-plus-year-old photographs as they wish, but this isn't about Bill Clinton."
"Everyone, particularly MAGA supporters, expects transparency, not scapegoats," the spokesperson added.
President Donald Trump, with pharmaceutical executives, delivers remarks on lowering the prices of drugs and pharmaceuticals during an announcement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, December 19, 2025.Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock
In the ABC News interview, Blanche further aimed to justify the department's choice not to disclose all of its files subject to unveiling under the legislation signed into law by Trump, which mandated the Justice Department to release all its Epstein investigative files within 30 days.
"I did not claim that all the files will not be released, I stated that all the files will not be released today," Blanche clarified when questioned about an interview he conducted earlier on Friday with Fox News. "And the law is exceedingly clear that the Department of Justice must ensure the protection of victims. Just this past Wednesday, we identified additional victim names, and we’ve received over 1,200 names of victims and their family members since we commenced this process. Consequently, there’s a recognized precedent that in a scenario like this, where it is essentially unfeasible for us to comply with the law today, we adhere to the law, in accordance with it."
When queried whether the public should have confidence that Blanche, who previously acted as
Sourse: abcnews.go.com