WATCH: Murray tells Blanche she hasn’t heard ‘I apologize’ for DOJ mishandling Epstein survivor info

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asked acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday in a hearing before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee whether he’d apologize for the Justice Department’s past mishandling of Jeffrey Epstein documents that didn’t redact survivors’ names and other personal information or images.

That oversight dogged his predecessor, Pam Bondi, who declined to apologize to Epstein survivors in a February hearing.

Blanche responded “of course” and “yes” to Murray’s repeated prompts for an apology and said his department had failed, but never apologized.

“Of course, we never want to release a single victim’s name,” Blanche said, adding that the document releases required by the Epstein Files Transparency Act meant that the agency had to review millions of pieces of paper “in a very short period of time.”

“The second that a victim or their lawyer told us that we made a mistake, we pulled that document down and we put lawyers 24/7 in being responsive to victims and their lawyers to make sure that we’ve fixed every single problem,” he added.

“I haven’t heard the words: ‘I apologize,’” Murray said.

She also asked if Blanche would commit to meeting with survivors, saying she heard from them personally that the DOJ refused to do so.

“We will always, always meet with victims’ counsel,” he said. “Any victim or the lawyer can come forward to the FBI.”

Blanche was invited to testify on President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request for the Justice Department, but faced questions on a number of issues.

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