False Quote Attributed to Acting Attorney General Blanche on Epstein Investigation

A fabricated quote attributed to Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche has been circulating widely on social media, falsely claiming he announced the Department of Justice would neither prosecute alleged predators in Jeffrey Epstein’s files nor release their names to the public.

The misattributed statement—”We’re not going to prosecute the predators in the Epstein files and we’re not going to release their names to the public”—has spread alongside a video clip of Blanche at a press conference. However, an extensive review of the January 30, 2026, news conference and its transcript reveals Blanche never made such a statement.

During the actual press conference, which announced the final release of files related to the DOJ’s investigation into the deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Blanche took a markedly different position than the fabricated quote suggests.

When directly asked about prosecuting men accused of abuse in the Epstein case, Blanche responded: “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 are covering up or that we’re choosing not to prosecute. That is not the case.”

Blanche further clarified the DOJ’s position, stating, “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.”

The full context of his remarks shows Blanche actively defending the DOJ’s commitment to prosecuting sex crimes. He opened the news conference by highlighting the department’s recent enforcement actions: “Every single day of the year, the Department of Justice investigates and prosecutes those who abuse and traffic young women and children. Just last year, the FBI located over 2,700 victims of child exploitation.”

Blanche cited additional statistics, including the termination of 3.8 million dark web pedophile accounts, charges against 11 defendants for sex trafficking of immigrants and underage women, and the arrest of nearly 300 offenders through Operation Restore Justice, which rescued 205 child victims.

“I wanted to point these numbers out specifically because of accusations that the DOJ does not take child exploitation or sex trafficking seriously,” Blanche explained during the conference.

The misleading quote appears to be either an intentional misrepresentation or a severely distorted summary of Blanche’s actual comments. No credible media outlets have reported Blanche making such a statement, which would have generated significant news coverage had it been authentic.

In a subsequent interview with ABC News published on February 1, 2026, Blanche maintained transparency in the department’s approach to the Epstein investigation, 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.”

The Epstein case remains politically sensitive, with the Justice Department facing ongoing scrutiny over its handling of the investigation into the convicted sex trafficker who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on additional charges. The January 30 press conference was held to announce the release of millions of pages of documents, videos, and images from the DOJ’s investigation files.

Social media users sharing the fabricated quote appear to be attempting to reframe Blanche’s statements to suggest a cover-up—a narrative that contradicts his actual on-record comments about the Department of Justice’s commitment to prosecuting sex crimes against women and children.