Todd Blanche’s Sex Predator PR Service

The Brits have finally found some people to arrest in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal: at least four people who projected images of Epstein and Donald Trump onto Windsor Castle.

Kaitlan Collins used that event as a pretext to grill Todd Blanche about his so-called proffer with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Todd Blanche’s responses were an incredible insult to survivors.

He first tried to change the subject — parroting Trump’s, “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” from months ago.

When Collins dug in, repeating her question, Blanche then effectively said — more than seven weeks after the interview — that he has never tested the credibility of Maxwell’s answers (which would be hard to do given the firing of Maurene Comey).

Todd Blanche confessed that he had moved Ghislaine Maxwell to comfier digs without first vetting the answers that Maxwell gave him.

Perhaps realizing how stupid that confession was, Blanche then said something even more astonishing. He claimed the entire point of the “proffer” was, “to give her an opportunity to speak, which nobody had done before.”

It’s rank bullshit that no one has given her an opportunity to speak. She had the right to testify in her own defense at trial, a right she declined. The day before Blanche did this “proffer,” the Oversight Committee subpoenaed her, in response to which she delayed testimony.

But even if it were true that poor Ghislaine Maxwell has never had a chance to tell her side of the story, has never had a chance to make claims her attorneys didn’t make in cross-examination during her trial, why in god’s name is the Deputy Attorney General of the United States wasting two days of his time, with neither adequate preparation to hold her accountable nor a prosecutor familiar with the case, giving a convicted sex trafficker a special opportunity to tell her story?

Effectively, Todd Blanche described that his DOJ is running a special service for select sex traffickers who have damning information on Blanche’s client, Donald Trump, where they get the privilege of telling their story in a venue largely free of repercussions. There’s no conceivable purpose for such a “proffer” besides to keep her silent.


KC: We’re here at Windsor Castle and tonight images of him with Jeffrey Epstein were actually projected on the castle behind me. People were arrested as a result of that. But this comes after you sat face to face with Ghislaine Maxwell for nine hours. Do you believe her?

TB: I mean, listen, I think that people are gonna do what they’re gonna do, they’re gonna say what they’re gonna say. And there’s a lot of important work that we’re doing every day. And so the fact that that is still what we’re focused on today in the wake of everything that’s happening and the week of the work of what President Trump’s doing over the next several days is incredibly unfortunate. But we’re gonna keep on doing our job and keep on doing what we need to do.

KC: But when you met with her did you find her to be credible?

TB: It’s an impossible question to answer. I met with her for two days. To determine whether a witness is credible takes weeks and weeks and weeks. I asked her questions that I believed all of us wanted answered. And she answered them. She answered them, I didn’t — the point of the interview was not for me to pressure test every single answer she gave. Of course not. The point of the interview was to give her an opportunity to speak, which nobody had done before. And so she had been — she had been in prison for many many years. And she had offered to speak on many many occasions. And she was never given that opportunity. And so what I did is I gave her that opportunity to speak, it was recorded, my questions were there, and whether her answers were credible or truthful, there’s a lot of information out there about Mr. Epstein, about her, and whether what she said is completely wrong, or completely right, or a little of both, is for — that’s the reason why we released the transcript, that’s why we were transparent about the questions I asked, and the answers shes [sic] gaves [sic] is because it’s really up to the American people to determine whether they believe that her answers were credible. Or whether they found her not credible.

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29 replies
  1. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Experienced criminal litigator and Deputy Attorney General, Todd Blanche, claims it’s “impossible” to assess the credibility of an interviewee?

    I suppose not, if your marching orders are to construct a framing for a presidential pardon or commutation of sentence. I suppose not, if you’re ignorant of the facts of the interviewee’s indictment, trial, conviction, and sentencing, and fired the only people on your staff who have that knowledge – because they have that knowledge. But the rest of the DoJ and FBI assess the credibility of interviewees all the time.

    • Rugger_9 says:

      I think it’s an admission by Blanche that even he couldn’t square the circle, so he proceeded to try to get Maxwell to name names for blackmail purposes. It also might explain the ridiculous 50 B$ suit filed against the NYT by Convict-1 in his personal capacity (i.e. NO presidential immunity attaches, leaving openings for depositions, etc.) to distract attention from Epstein.

    • Rugger_9 says:

      Maxwell also had ample opportunity during the trial process. There is no indication from the record that shows the court shut her down (like Aileen Cannon did on the FL trial of the alleged golf course assassination attempt) or any appeal on those grounds.

  2. RitaRita says:

    i suppose Kaitlin Collins could have followed up by saying, “I am an American and I didn’t find her credible. So, please move her back to her original prison.”.

    Perhaps Todd Blanche just made the case for releasing all of the Epstein files. How else can the American people make an informed decision on Maxwell’s credibility.

    At least now we know for certain that what Maxwell was doing was not a proffer. Trump and the DOJ just wanted to give her a platform to talk, without pesky interruptions. How kind of them..

      • BRUCE F COLE says:

        For maximum self-deprecating irony, quoth me:

        Dude needs and English language refresher course.

        This dude needs to use the edit function.

      • Ginevra diBenci says:

        I agree. I underestimated her. She has emerged as deceptively skillful interviewer, able to elicit answers that truly are revelatory considered in context. My favorite is when she allows Blanche to hang himself on his own word-salad petard:

        “…and whether what she said is completely wrong, or completely right, or a little of both, is for — that’s the reason why we released the transcript…”

        Right. We, the public, are supposed to do YOUR job. Without any of the contextualizing “Epstein files” that YOU possess and we don’t, which are the only way her truthfulness could be evaluated in the first place. (I will, however, give you a hint, Todd: she’s lying.)

  3. Peterr says:

    Perhaps realizing how stupid that confession was, Blanche then said something even more astonishing. He claimed the entire point of the “proffer” was, “to give her an opportunity to speak, which nobody had done before.”

    Can someone please show the Deputy Attorney General the door?

    IANAL, but even I know that a “proffer” is the opening bid to a deal. “If you tell us, X, we will do Y for you.” Saying “if you answer our questions, we’ll give you an opportunity to tell your story” is admitting to the stupidest deal the DOJ has ever offered anyone, from the POV of an investigator or prosecutor.

    From the POV of someone trying to facilitate sweeping a steaming pile of crap under a very large rug, OTOH, it makes a great deal of sense.

  4. Ginevra diBenci says:

    Todd Blanche becomes the latest and highest-profile Trump official to overtly contradict one of Ka$h Patel’s lies made under oath. Yesterday, under questioning from Democratic Senators, Patel insisted (absurdly) that Maxwell got moved to Happy Fun Prison in Texas due to a “Bureau of Prisons” decision.

    Ka$h lies just with rapid, practiced ease. He refused to back off this assertion. Blanche now seems to have undercut it, without any of the mutual equivocation that this administration’s officials typically engage in. Ka$h is making the whole lot of them look bad. Really bad. Cory Booker is likely right: Patel doesn’t have long in the job.

    • Matt Foley says:

      https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lz27h24wc626
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!
      SWALWELL: Did you tell the AG that Trump’s name is in the Epstein files?
      PATEL: homina homina!

      Seven times Patel dodged/evaded/stalled/deflected.

    • Wild Bill 99 says:

      I find virtually the entire Trump administration NOT credible, as well as their lawyers and the majority of Congress. The trickle-down is a loss of trust in any authority.

  5. Rattlemullet says:

    The entire administration is nothing more than “Criminals serving Criminals”. The goal is stay in power, enrich themselves and their ilk by fleecing America of wealth while all the while keeping the people of color under their thumb, replicating centuries of white America prejudice now for cosplaying to social media for likes and followers.

  6. Magnet48 says:

    I have come to really admire Kaitlin Collins, her revelatory demeanor seems to say Do not lie to me any more, as if she’s disgusted with being treated that way.

    • emptywheel says:

      I don’t always love her, but her booking staff is great and she has been relentless on issues related to sexual abuse.

    • Memory hole says:

      We are now in the stage of the fascist takeover attempt where the truth can get you fired. Or merely pointing out what this specific murder victim actually said can and will get people fired.

      Meanwhile, on Earth 2, Fox “news” propagandist Brian Kilmeade calls for “involuntary lethal injection, or something,” Kilmeade said. “Just kill ‘em.”
      Neither Mr. Kilmeade nor Fox News explain whether homeless veterans with PTSD from sacrificing for their country should get a pass from Mr Kilmeade’s Final Solution.

      He wasn’t fired for his call to murder homeless people, but he did eventually have to make a tepid apology.

      “During an appearance on the “Fox & Friends” weekend show Sunday, Kilmeade said that “I wrongly said they should get lethal injection. I apologize for that extremely callous remark.”
      https://apnews.com/article/kilmeade-fox-homeless-executed-apology

      So he apologized for his callous remark, but not for calling for the killing of homeless.

      Yesterday one or more mentally ill people seem to have focused on the part where Kilmeade said the lethal injection part of his comment was wrong.
      So instead, they shot up two separate homeless encampments in Minneapolis. At least 13 people were wounded.

      https://abcnews.go.com/US/people-hurt-mass-shootings-minneapolis-homeless-encampments/story?id=125620641

  7. Savage Librarian says:

    Favors and Slavers

    Question:
    We’re here at Windsor Castle
    with images on the wall
    So tell us, sir, vassal
    What’s your take on it all

    Answer:
    People are gonna say
    what they’re gonna say
    And there’s a lot of important hay
    we’re making every day

    Question:
    The point of this interview
    is to give you an opportunity to speak
    It’s recorded, the question to you:
    Is it credible?… No hide ‘n’ seek

    Answer:
    The cost of opportunity
    Is it amplified with you
    We feel we’re owed impunity
    In ratcheting up the gobbledygoo

    Question:
    But should we believe you
    Is it credible
    Because what you do
    is not forgettable

    Answer:
    It takes weeks and weeks
    to determine right or wrong
    We skip the techniques
    and give favors to go along

  8. The Old Redneck says:

    Any decent lawyer knows you don’t go into a lengthy witness interview, or a deposition, without being prepared. Otherwise the witness can walk all over you, because you don’t have the facts to challenge them.

    I assume Blanche is capable of preparation. But calling Maxwell out on her lies could have made things messy. She might have started naming names, and that could have really blown up on Blanche’s client.

    As EW has explained, the real reason for Blanche to spend all that time with Maxwell was to lock her into a story that Trump did nothing wrong. But my God . . . the cover story from Blanche is “I had to give her a chance to speak?” I mean, did he think he would never be asked why he did it?

    As bad as that was, Kash was so awful before Congress that he’ll be the first to go. The unhinged and defensive spluttering was too much even for some Republicans.

    • xyxyxyxy says:

      “She might have started naming names, and that could have really blown up on Blanche’s client.”
      Why would it blow up?
      He could say she refused to say anything and then what?
      Or he could say she was very cooperative and said she couldn’t remember ever knowing Trump.
      They have no reason to tell the truth and at worse have her commit suicide while the guards or monitors were asleep on the job.

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