Republican Senator Bill Cassidy announced Friday morning his support for Todd Blanche’s confirmation to become Attorney General.
The decision is effectively a deciding vote that has survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell pushing other Republicans to vote against Blanche's nomination.
It’s been 35 years since Jess Michaels was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, and she’s still fighting for justice.
She's been going from office to office meetings with Senators about their vote to confirm Blanche, and now she’s appealing to a handful of Republicans she believes could make a difference, including Senators John Curtis, Dan Sullivan and Bernie Moreno.
Scripps News' Alex Miller: Do you feel like they were listening to you when you spoke to them?
Jess Michaels: I do. It was really helpful for us to go and say, 'look at this file, look at this file.' I mean, it's horrific that someone that is applying to be promoted to the highest law official in our country, and they can't abide by the law.
Outgoing Republican Senator Thom Tillis had expressed concern about Blanche, demanding a meeting for survivors, but ultimately reversed course with his vote.
"It is a constant retraumatization over and over and over again because it says I'm not listening to you," Michaels told Scripps News. "If they actually read the files, they will notice that Todd Blanche is lying."
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Michaels was one of few the survivors in that meeting with Blanche in July.
Miller: How did you feel leaving that meeting, coming face to face with Todd Blanche after you guys had been fighting for a very long time to talk to him?
Michaels: He seemed confused about why we wanted to meet with him, which was sort of shocking. There was very little connection to, 'but you're the man that was responsible for this release.'
Michaels: When we were in that meeting, it did just feel like gaslighting and distraction and deflection. I mean, at one point he did agree that all of the FBI have done a terrible job on this investigation, while also saying, 'And there's nothing in these files to look at, so you're going to have to go back to the FBI and start over again.'
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Michaels says the legal issues piling up against on this topic alone should be a point of pause for members.
"You have an attorney general that is appearing before a federal judge because he can't comply with the law, and that's the person you want to confirm, so that's problematic," she said.
She says constituents should be paying attention to how much their senators prioritize this issue.
"Refusing to even read the files is not neutral anymore. It's complicity in a cover up," she said.
Michaels also pointed to Blanche’s meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell — which she likened to a sweetheart deal — asking if that’s happening in public view, what’s happening behind closed doors?
