Claim:
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche allegedly stated, “We’re not going to prosecute the predators in the Epstein files and we’re not going to release their names to the public.”
Fact Check:
Following his confirmation in August 2026, social media users and Reddit communities began spreading rumors that U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche had vowed during a press conference to shield the individuals named in Jeffrey Epstein’s files from prosecution or public exposure.
However, this quote is entirely fabricated and falsely attributed to Blanche. A comprehensive search across major search engines yields no credible media reports of such a statement, which certainly would have made major headlines if spoken.
The rumor appears to stem from a misrepresentation of comments Blanche made during a January 30, 2026, press conference announcing the final release of Department of Justice (DOJ) files concerning the Epstein investigation.
A review of the official transcript and C-SPAN footage reveals what Blanche actually said when questioned by a reporter about whether men accused of abusing women in the files would face charges or have their names published:
“If we had information, we meaning the Department of Justice, about men who abused women, we would prosecute them. […] There is this built-in assumption that somehow there is a hidden tranche of information of men that we know about that we’re covering up or that we’re choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case. I do not know whether there are men out there who abused these women. If we learn about information and evidence that allows us to prosecute them, you better believe we will. But I do not think that the public, or you all [reporters], are going to uncover men within the Epstein files that abused women, unfortunately.”
Rather than refusing to pursue offenders, Blanche emphasized the DOJ’s ongoing efforts to combat sex trafficking and child exploitation. Earlier in the same press conference, he highlighted numerous agency achievements from the previous year, noting that the FBI had located over 2,700 victims of child exploitation, dismantled millions of dark web pedophile accounts, and arrested hundreds of offenders through coordinated operations.
Blanche reiterated this stance in a subsequent February 1 interview with ABC News, stating, “We have nothing to hide. We never did, and our doors are open if they want to come and review any of the materials that we produced.”