Deputy AG Blanche tells Fox News 'it is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein,' sparks bipartisan backlash

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche--Trump's former personal defense lawyer--appeared on Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle' and stated 'it is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein' when asked about potential prosecutions of individuals in the Epstein files. When host Laura Ingraham pushed back saying 'Didn't look like that's all that was going on in some of those photos... if the photos could speak, some of them look pretty bad,' Blanche replied 'Unfortunately, photos can't speak, so we need witnesses, and we need evidence.' He added the DOJ reviewed the files last summer and 'did not find credible evidence' warranting prosecution. The remarks sparked bipartisan backlash: Rep. Ted Lieu demanded Blanche be fired, stating 'If Jeffrey Epstein was human trafficking minors for these sex parties, and you show up and patronize the establishment at that party, yes, it could be a crime.' Even MAGA influencers criticized Blanche--right-wing influencer Shawn Ryan posted 'It's not a crime to party with Epstein. This is the new official narrative?' The statement came days after a New York Times review found Trump mentioned over 38,000 times in the Epstein document dump and flagged in over 5,300 files. Rep. Raskin called Blanche's comments 'astonishing' and accused him of 'never once attempting to make the transformation from being Donald Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer to the No. 2 person for the United States Department of Justice.'

"It is not a crime to party with Mr. Epstein. It is not a crime to email with Mr. Epstein. And some of these men may've done horrible things, and if we have evidence that will allow us to prosecute them, you better believe we will." — Deputy AG Todd Blanche on Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle,' February 3, 2026, explaining why DOJ found no prosecutable offenses in the Epstein files