What should have been a cleanup operation turned into a full-blown faceplant.
Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and now a top Justice Department official, went on Meet the Press this weekend with the apparent mission of explaining why a photo of Trump linked to Jeffrey Epstein briefly disappeared from newly released DOJ files — and then reappeared. Instead of calming things down, Blanche managed to pour gasoline on a controversy that was already smoldering.
The photo was part of Friday’s Epstein document release, a long-anticipated DOJ drop that was supposed to show openness after years of secrecy. Hours later, one image — showing Trump with women connected to Epstein — was quietly removed. That removal triggered instant backlash. By Sunday, the photo was back, but the damage was done.
Blanche’s explanation only made it worse.
On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski broke down what went wrong, and Scarborough zeroed in on Blanche’s claim that the DOJ was acting in the name of openness.
“I wrote it down here because this is going to come back,” Scarborough said. “And this is a real laugher: ‘This is the most transparent process in U.S. history,’ he says, when it’s of course, it’s the least transparent.”
That alone raised red flags. But then came the moment that left even seasoned cable news hosts visibly stunned.
Scarborough explained that Blanche suggested the photo was removed to protect Epstein’s victims — while Trump appeared in the picture.
“And then, I’m really very concerned for Todd Blanche, because Todd Blanche seemed to suggest that Donald Trump was in a picture of victims, of Epstein victims, when he said, we only took down Donald Trump’s picture because we didn’t want to expose the faces of victims.”
Brzezinski’s reaction was instant.
“Oh my gosh,” she blurted.
Scarborough slowed it down, repeating the claim to make sure everyone understood the implication.
“Let’s chew on that again,” he continued. “He said they had — why is everybody making such a big deal? We were trying to protect victims of Jeffrey Epstein when we took Donald Trump’s picture off the files.”
That framing is explosive — and not in a way that helps Trump. Blanche didn’t just struggle to explain a bureaucratic decision. He effectively placed Trump in a context involving Epstein victims, something there is no public evidence to support.
Scarborough pointed out the obvious political fallout.
“I don’t know, if I were Donald Trump, I’d be very angry that Todd Blanche accused him of being with Epstein victims when there’s no evidence of that whatsoever,” he said.
That’s the core of the problem. Blanche’s attempt to justify the DOJ’s actions didn’t clarify anything. It raised new questions, reinforced suspicion, and handed critics a devastating soundbite — all while speaking as a sitting Justice Department official.
The Epstein files were already radioactive. The sudden removal of Trump’s photo made them even more so. Blanche’s explanation didn’t extinguish the fire — it spread it.
Watch the discussion below:
