(José Niño, Headline USA) Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, accused Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of personally intervening to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from releasing documents related to a secret drug trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, announced on social media that “Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — Trump’s former personal lawyer who was also responsible for Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer to a cushy club fed — has intervened to block the DEA from providing details of a mysterious Epstein investigation to my Finance Com.”
Huge: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche — Trump's former personal lawyer who was also responsible for Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer to a cushy club fed — has intervened to block the DEA from providing details of a mysterious Epstein investigation to my Finance Committee team. https://t.co/pfLH4S4mWm
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) March 18, 2026
In January 2026, the Justice Department released millions of pages of Epstein related documents pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Buried among those files was a heavily redacted 69-page memorandum, dated May 18, 2015, prepared by the director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Fusion Center, per a report by CBS News. That document revealed that the DEA had launched a major investigation into Epstein and 14 co-conspirators as far back as December 2010, focusing on illegitimate wire transfers tied to illicit drug and prostitution activities.
The investigation was triggered by an informant who told authorities Epstein was funding and distributing club drugs, specifically ecstasy, ketamine, and methamphetamines, and procuring Eastern European prostitutes for high profile clients, Bloomberg reported. Despite years of investigation, no charges were ever filed against any of the targets.
Wyden wrote that “Recent reporting revealed that Epstein was one of several targets of a big drug trafficking investigation a decade ago. DEA has key info. Based on what we know, Epstein was likely pumping his victims, young women and girls, with incapacitating drugs to facilitate abuse.”
Recent reporting revealed that Epstein was one of several targets of a big drug trafficking investigation a decade ago. DEA has key info. Based on what we know, Epstein was likely pumping his victims, young women and girls, with incapacitating drugs to facilitate abuse. pic.twitter.com/RjxqkE0GzG
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) March 18, 2026
On Feb. 25, 2026, Wyden sent a formal letter to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole demanding a fully unredacted copy of the memorandum. His concern was that the heavily redacted version offered no explanation for why Epstein and his associates were never charged and why the investigation ended.
Wyden stated that “My team immediately sought key documents from that investigation. What was the result, and why did the investigation end? We were notified that the DEA intended to release those documents to the Finance Committee. Then Deputy AG Todd Blanche intervened.”
My team immediately sought key documents from that investigation. What was the result, and why did the investigation end? We were notified that the DEA intended to release those documents to the Finance Committee.
Then Deputy AG Todd Blanche intervened.
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) March 18, 2026
The Senator added that “This is stunning interference. The document I’m after literally says ‘unclassified’ at the top. The investigation it details is closed. Given Blanche’s close personal ties to Donald Trump, this reeks of a continued coverup to protect key names in the Trump administration.”
This is stunning interference. The document I’m after literally says “unclassified” at the top. The investigation it details is closed. Given Blanche's close personal ties to Donald Trump, this reeks of a continued coverup to protect key names in the Trump administration.
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) March 18, 2026
Blanche represented Donald Trump in his criminal cases prior to the 2024 election before being appointed Deputy Attorney General under Trump’s second term. In the summer of 2025, Blanche personally met with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s convicted accomplice serving a 20 year sentence.
According to a CNN report, one week after those meetings, Maxwell was moved from a low security prison in Florida to a minimum security prison camp in Texas. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse demanded an explanation for the move, noting that Bureau of Prisons policy requires sex offenders to be placed in low security facilities at minimum.
Blanche responded to Wyden’s accusations, calling the Senator’s claims “completely fabricated” and stating the unredacted memo is available to members of Congress in a DOJ reading room but that Wyden had never visited. Blanche also denied ignoring Epstein’s victims, saying “Any claim that we are neglecting Epstein’s victims is simply untrue.”
Wyden fired back, saying the DOJ was hiding files in a “black box” and that DOJ officials were surveilling members of Congress who visited to view the documents, per a CBS report.
The House Oversight Committee has separately subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi to give a sworn deposition on April 14 as part of its own Epstein probe.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
