Deputy attorney general signals no new Epstein charges, defends Gabbard role in Georgia election search

By Alejandra Jaramillo, CNN

(CNN) — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s actions on multiple fronts Sunday, signaling that no new charges will be brought in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, downplaying Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s involvement in a probe into alleged voter fraud in Georgia, and defending the decision to arrest former CNN anchor Don Lemon.

Blanche, in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” emphasized that the Justice Department is handling the Epstein files, the Georgia 2020 election probe, and the Lemon case through established legal channels, pushing back against claims of political bias or irregularity.

Epstein charges

Blanche said the DOJ is not considering bringing any additional charges related to Epstein, after releasing millions of pages of documents tied to the convicted sex offender.

“I can’t talk about any investigations, but I will say the following, which is that in July, the Department of Justice said that we had reviewed the files, the Epstein files, and there was nothing in there that allowed us to prosecute anybody,” Blanche told CNN’s Dana Bash.

“The entire world can look at and see if we got it wrong.”

Blanche acknowledged the materials contain disturbing content, including correspondence, emails and photographs, but stressed they do not meet the threshold for prosecution.

“There’s a lot of horrible photographs that appear to be taken by Mr. Epstein or people around him, but that doesn’t allow us necessarily to prosecute somebody,” Blanche said.

The deputy attorney general also sought to temper the focus on President Donald Trump, who is mentioned more than 1,000 times in the documents. “It’s about a ton of people … that were quoted in the Epstein files,” he told CNN. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged with any crime related to Epstein.

Blanche noted that many of the allegations involving Trump came from anonymous tips or unverifiable sources.

“It turns out, there was a number of claims made by either … anonymous people or somebody, for example, calling and saying, ‘I used to have a roommate who told me this sensational story.’ So just, you know, obviously that’s not something that can be really investigated, right? ‘What’s your roommate’s name? I don’t remember,’ So that’s what that’s about.”

Gabbard’s role in election search

Blanche also addressed questions surrounding Gabbard’s presence during an FBI search of the Fulton County elections office in Georgia last week, saying he didn’t know why she was there. The search was related to an effort by the Justice Department to seize voting data and search for alleged fraud in the county, which has long been a centerpiece of Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

“I don’t know why the director was there. She is not part of the grand jury investigation,” Blanche said.

“But she is, for sure, a key part of our efforts at election integrity and making sure that we have free and fair elections,” he said. He emphasized that the investigation is being run by the FBI and cautioned against overstating Gabbard’s role.

CNN has reported that the move appears to provide an opportunity for Gabbard to curry favor with Trump by supporting his false but unrelenting claims about the 2020 election. Trump on Thursday night praised Gabbard for “working very hard to try to keep the election safe” when asked by CNN why she was present during the search.

The director of national intelligence oversees all foreign intelligence collection. Their traditional role in US elections is to protect them from foreign interference.

Charging Don Lemon

Blanche defended the Justice Department’s decision to bring charges against Lemon, countering criticism that the case amounts to criminalizing journalistic activity. Lemon and another independent journalist were arrested last week in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“There was absolutely probable cause that a crime had been committed,” Blanche said. “Our system doesn’t allow judges to make that decision … but only a grand jury can bring forth an indictment, and so that’s what we did.”

When asked whether Lemon’s actions could be seen as protected by the First Amendment, Blanche pointed to allegations that extend beyond ordinary journalistic activity.

“There are multiple allegations there, and guess what? He gets to have a lawyer, and he gets to have a defense. If he wants to go forward with the defense at ‘Aw, shucks, I was just a journalist,’ he can do that.”

He also rejected the notion that the case was politically motivated. “I don’t even know that the president’s even ever thought of Don Lemon. … We’re not making examples of people.”

Trump said Saturday he had no knowledge of Lemon’s arrest while launching personal attacks against the longtime journalist, calling him “a sleaze bag.”

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