Katie Phang says Blanche's remarks undercut the government's claim that the FBI had discretion

Where this statement fits

Epstein survivors subpoena Attorney General Todd Blanche in their suit against the FBI; the Justice Department calls the request extraordinary, and a magistrate judge blocks the deposition for now

A group of women who say Jeffrey Epstein abused them are suing the United States in federal court in Florida under the Federal Tort Claims Act. They allege the FBI negligently failed to act on tips and complaints about Epstein for years. The court has limited discovery for now to whether mandatory FBI policies governed how agents handled such reports, a question that decides whether the government is shielded from the suit. On or about October 9, 2026, the plaintiffs subpoenaed Attorney General Todd Blanche for a deposition in New York and for any and all documents about Epstein. Declarations filed by their lawyers and two plaintiffs say that at a July 16, 2026 meeting with survivors in Washington, Blanche said the FBI's case against Epstein was handled improperly before 2007 and told them they "got screwed over by the FBI." The Justice Department moved on October 26 to quash the subpoena, arguing that a sitting cabinet official may be deposed only in extraordinary circumstances and that Blanche has no unique knowledge of the issues in discovery. On November 5, Magistrate Judge Ryon M. McCabe entered a protective order barring the deposition until written discovery and the FBI's own witness deposition are complete, and allowed the plaintiffs to send Blanche up to ten written questions about his July 16 remarks. The government objected to that order on November 12, and the district judge ordered the plaintiffs to respond by November 16.