1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to call for the immediate resignation of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche following his deeply troubling comments on Fox News regarding Jeffrey Epstein. His statement that "it is not a crime to party" with Epstein demonstrates a fundamental failure to understand the gravity of sex trafficking crimes and shows callous disregard for survivors of sexual abuse. During his Monday appearance with Laura Ingraham, Blanche was asked whether people who partied with Epstein and engaged in relations with minors would be prosecuted. His response that merely partying or emailing with Epstein is not inherently criminal misses the critical point. As Representative Ted Lieu correctly noted, partying with Epstein at sex parties involving minors could constitute the crime of patronizing. The Deputy Attorney General's failure to grasp this basic legal principle is disqualifying for someone in his position. The timing of these remarks is particularly egregious. The Department of Justice just released over 3 million pages of documents, more than 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images related to Epstein's crimes under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. These materials document horrific abuse of minors by a convicted sex offender who died in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Survivors deserve a Deputy Attorney General who prioritizes their justice, not one who appears to excuse or minimize the crimes committed against them. This is not a partisan issue. Even conservative commentators like Evan Kilgore called Blanche's remarks "horrible messaging" and "tone deaf," while analyst Brian Allen described them as "moral rot dressed up as legalism." When critics across the political spectrum agree that the nation's second-highest law enforcement official has failed in his duty, action must be taken. I urge you to publicly call for Deputy Attorney General Blanche's resignation and to demand accountability from the Department of Justice leadership.