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Todd Blanche Pressed About Meeting with Epstein Survivors; Epstein Survivor Expected to Testify Against Blanche Tomorrow; Cuban Exiles Say They are Preparing for Regime Change; England and Argentina Battle for Spot in Final World Cup. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 15, 2026 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Today on Capitol Hill, Todd Blanche was pressed about meeting with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's during his Senate confirmation hearing to become Attorney General. Some of them were actually there in the hearing room. A group of survivors have opposed Blanche's nomination because of his involvement in reported secret White House meetings over how to deal with the political fallout from the Epstein scandal.

They've also criticized how Blanche handled the release and redaction of millions of documents in the Epstein files, which he defended today at his hearing. Here was Blanche's response when asked if he would meet personally with survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Will you meet with these ten survivors, I'm asking you, on the record?

TODD BLANCHE, ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: If they have lawyers, as you know, I'm prohibited from meeting directly with them. I have met with counsel for survivors, as has many people in the Department of Justice.

DURBIN: Will you get it done within the next 30 days to meet some of the survivors?

BLANCHE: I will get it done today if that's necessary. My point is, there's somebody here who can meet with them today, get their information, and arrange to meet with them, absolutely.

DURBIN: I think you ought to be in the room.

BLANCHE: Pardon me?

DURBIN: I think you ought to be in the room because you ought to hear this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Danielle Bensky is with us now. She's an Epstein survivor, and tomorrow she is expected to testify on Capitol Hill against Blanche's nomination. I wonder what you thought of his answer there.

He did go down to Florida, talk to Ghislaine Maxwell. He's been in a room with her and talked to her. What did you think of his answer?

DANIELLE BENSKY, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I mean, he waffled on pretty much everything.

[15:35:00]

He was talking around basically any time the Epstein files was mentioned, he would talk sort of in this very circular way. And he mentions there that he would need to talk to our counsel. Survivors have been asking and requesting for meetings with Todd Blanche for months at this point, and he has never followed through.

And it's not even that he provided an answer of, with your counsel, I'd like to sit down or offered any sort of an environment where we could meet with him. Instead, it's just been absolute radio silence. I think that says a lot, yes.

KEILAR: And has that been the case when DOJ was helmed by Pam Bondi or he was the acting AG? Your experience has just been you can't get a meeting with DOJ?

BENSKY: Cannot get a meeting with them, yes.

KEILAR: OK, so what was it like? You were there in the room today with other survivors. What was that?

BENSKY: Yes, I mean, anytime that we're together, there's a lot of power, and I think we're frustrated. You know, we've been at this fight for a long time, and it's been five administrations of this fight. And, you know, we're sitting there looking at, we were looking especially at Senators Cornyn and Tillis because we do hope that they've been so good at victim-centered opportunities, and I think that this is a real opportunity for them to step up and vote no.

KEILAR: Cornyn said he's undecided on the confirmation.

BENSKY: Yes.

KEILAR: What's your message to him?

BENSKY: Really hope that he listens to survivors and that he does, you know, he's done incredible work before in the sex trafficking world, and he's always been very victim-centered. And so I'm just hoping that he does see that we are not political pawns, we are not in this to be political at all. We're just human, and it's like we're your daughter or your niece.

And I just really hope that he can see that.

KEILAR: So Blanche said at one point there are no closed investigations. He stressed that while there was no current evidence to prosecute additional people in the Epstein case, he said if we learn of new material, we'll most certainly review it. He also did say when Senator Kennedy asked him about trafficking of young women, who, if anyone else, did Mr. Epstein traffic young women to, he said we did not have evidence of other men. That doesn't necessarily mean there isn't.

BENSKY: Yes.

KEILAR: But I just wonder what you thought in a way of all of those comments put together.

BENSKY: Yes, I mean, I think this idea of no other men is far-fetched because literally Chairman Comer came to him in the last couple of weeks with two referrals, and we've been in meetings with most of the House Oversight saying, like, you need to look into these people, and I think the House Oversight is bringing more people in all the time, and so it's very early to say there are no other men.

KEILAR: So when he says we do not have evidence of other men, you say that is what about that?

BENSKY: They need to look harder, and I think that the DOJ has never followed up on any of these 302 statements, on anything that we've ever provided to the FBI, and we have provided a great deal to the FBI. That's why our 302 statements exist. And so it's really their job, and it's really wild.

That's where you start to see the cover-up come into play, that nobody in the FBI, they did follow up, but then once it got to the DOJ level, there was never a prosecutor that came and asked any sort of questions of a witness or of any of our experiences.

KEILAR: Senate Judiciary Dems plan to call you tomorrow. You are going to be testifying as part of the second day of his confirmation. What are you expecting?

I mean, what is your goal about what you want to get across?

BENSKY: I think that Todd Blanche has been prioritizing his own interests and the interests of this administration. I think it has been all about sort of just repairing damages as opposed to actually finding justice and accountability for survivors and for crime victims of this country, and that's a problem.

KEILAR: The vice president was just on Joe Rogan's show. He was talking about the release of the Epstein files, and here is part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it, especially the communications of it.

JOE ROGAN, JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE PODCAST: What do you think should have been done? VANCE: I think that we should have just dropped everything at the very beginning, and like obviously it takes a little time to review the stuff, to find the stuff, to redact things where you have victims and so forth, but we should have just done it as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: What do you think about him saying that?

BENSKY: Yes, I mean, I wish it happened that way, and I wish we could get all the files released. I think at this point we've only seen half of the files released, and we heard today from Blanche saying there was another Epstein, and I don't have any information on that other Epstein, but I promise you it can't be three million files that are out there just drifting somewhere, right? So we know, like survivors know what's missing.

[15:40:00]

We know that we can't find the other half of Maria Farmer's 1996 report. We know that there are proffer agreements that we can't find. Like there are plenty of things that we ourselves, like as a collective, can get together and say, where are these things?

And so they just need to release everything. So I agree to be fair.

KEILAR: Do you think we'll hear about that tomorrow?

BENSKY: I hope so.

KEILAR: Danielle, thank you so much for being with us.

BENSKY: Thank you.

KEILAR: We'll be looking tomorrow to see how this goes.

BENSKY: Thank you so much for having me.

KEILAR: Thank you. We appreciate it. Danielle Bensky.

And still ahead, some Cuban exiles believe the political regime they fled is now nearing its end. CNN talks to a new generation of Cubans who are looking forward to what might come next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:00]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Let's get you to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Fighting between the United States and Iran is sending gas prices here in the U.S. higher. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular today is $3.89. That is three cents higher than yesterday and the highest national average in nearly three weeks. Oil and gas prices have been climbing since President Trump declared the ceasefire over last week after Iran continued firing on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Also, divers, helicopters and boats are searching the waters off San

Francisco for three missing people. You see some of the images here. This is after a boat capsized near Alcatraz Island.

One person was killed in the accident. Twenty people, mostly family, were on board when the boat went down yesterday. Sixteen of them were rescued. The cause of the sinking is under investigation, but witnesses reported a fire broke out on board, so we'll continue to monitor for details there.

And then in New York, it is now the first state to temporarily ban new construction on hyperscale data centers. Governor Kathy Hochul says the pause will last a year while the state establishes guardrails to safeguard its power grid, protect natural resources, and minimize land disruption and pollution. The move comes at a time when communities push back on new data centers over safety concerns and growing energy costs -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Electricity in some parts of Havana were restored today after chronic power outages from Cuba's economic crisis. The country's national power grid collapsed Tuesday and was the third major blackout here in nine days. Cuba has been suffering from an energy crisis for years, but it's been made worse by the U.S. fuel blockade. CNN senior national correspondent David Culver talked to some Cuban exiles who say they're preparing for the regime to fall amid this ongoing national crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hola.

CULVER (voice-over): Miami's Calle Ocho in Little Havana.

ORLANDO CABRERA, CUBAN EXILE: The best way for me to describe it is it smells like Cuba.

CULVER (voice-over): It's the closest thing to home for Cuban exiles like Orlando Cabrera, who believe the regime they fled is now nearing its end.

CULVER: Who do you think could be a potential leader one day?

CABRERA: It has to be someone out there. Of course, Rosa Maria Paya, she has the power of, you know, maybe put all the Cubans together in the same pot.

CULVER (voice-over): Pouring our first of many cafecitos is Rosa Maria Paya, a Havana-trained physicist with a master's from Columbia University. Last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio nominated Paya to the Western Hemisphere's top human rights commission, and the region voted her in. But Cuba decide, or Cuba decides, is personal.

It's a movement she started in 2015.

CULVER: I know these are obviously to cut off cell communication.

CULVER (voice-over): Her team, fellow Cuban-Americans, now quietly getting supplies to organizers inside Cuba.

ROSA MARIA PAYA, CUBAN OPPOSITION LEADER: It's kind of making your phone into a walkie-talkie.

CULVER: Off-grid phone-to-phone connectivity.

CULVER (voice-over): Racing, they say, for a moment that's almost here.

PAYA: Yo me voy a quitar esto un momentico.

CULVER: So this is too sensitive now, so we're going to turn off the cameras.

CULVER (voice-over): It's not who's on the call, it's what they're discussing. Paya says any link to Cuba Decide is a risk inside Cuba. Even this.

PAYA: Well, you can go to jail for wearing these.

CULVER: For wearing that bracelet.

CULVER (voice-over): Human rights groups say Cuba is holding more than 1,200 political prisoners. The government insists it has none, that they're criminals.

PAYA: Castro family and the generals that have been in power for the last 67 years needs to leave.

CULVER: Either on their own accord or by force.

PAYA: They need to leave.

CULVER (voice-over): To understand the urgency, it helps to know who Rosa's father was. At the entrance to Walker Park in Hialeah, Florida, Paya shows us a memorial to her dad, Oswaldo Paya.

PAYA: And he was seen as the hope for Cuba.

CULVER (voice-over): Paya's father and another activist died in 2012 when their car ran off the road. Cuba called it an accident and denies any involvement. But the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released, quote, serious evidence that Cuban state agents were involved.

PAYA: When they killed him, it changed everything. It changed everything.

CULVER (voice-over): And yet the elder Paya's whole approach had been non-violent. To use the regime's own constitution to force a vote on free elections. Tens of thousands signed on.

PAYA: David, me, Mama.

CULVER: Hi, I'm David. CULVER (voice-over): Paya says that after her father's death, the government pressure once aimed at him shifted to the family. Her mother wanted them out of Cuba. So in 2013, against Rosa's wishes, they sought political asylum in Miami.

[15:50:00]

CULVER: She's worried about your safety.

PAYA: They used to tell my father that he was not going to see the change.

CULVER: That he wouldn't be alive to see the change.

PAYA: And they repeat that to us. But they're wrong. We're going to see the change.

CULVER (voice-over): In the wake of the U.S. capturing Venezuela's Maduro and taking part in strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Cuba is next.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And Cuba's next, by the way.

CULVER: And Cuba's that way.

PAYA: Cuba is right there.

CULVER: If the regime is forced out, if change is imminent, what does that mean for the exile community?

PAYA: What is going on right now, which is very eloquent desire to help and to be part of the process.

CULVER (voice-over): As for her part in Cuba's future?

CULVER: Do you want to be president of Cuba one day?

PAYA: I want for the Cuban people to decide their own destinies. And if my name is going to be in that ballot, we'll see. It will be decided at due time.

Right now, the priority is the only option for the people. La libertad.

CULVER: Freedom.

KEILAR: Freedom.

CULVER (voice-over): David Culver, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Our thanks to David Culver for that report.

Still to come, a lot of Lionel Messi fans turning out in Atlanta as Argentina faces off against England in one of the most anticipated games of this World Cup. We have a glimpse of all the action taking place at the Fan Fest next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Right now, England and Argentina are facing off in Atlanta to secure the last spot in the World Cup finals.

JIMENEZ: Yes, the winner is going to face Spain on Sunday for a chance to lift up soccer's most coveted trophy.

CNN's Patrick Snell is in Atlanta at the FIFA Fan Fest. Patrick, what's it like there? A lot of people.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi there, Omar. Yes, absolutely. Thousands in the fan zone here behind me, but what they would all give to see a goal in this tight, tense, cagey affair.

Of course, this is a storied rivalry, but we're waiting for some drama. We've not had one shot on goal thus far, not even one single shot on goal. I'm expecting and hoping that the second half is going to be a whole lot better as England or Argentina look to join Spain's La Roja in Sunday's final in New Jersey.

I mentioned that storied rivalry between these two nations. This is the sixth time they're playing in the FIFA World Cup. I can remember watching as a teenager in 1986 when Argentina beat England en route to the final, winning the tournament that year.

That was the quarterfinal. We had the infamous illegal punch by Diego Maradona, the legend illegally putting the ball into the back of the net, breaking England's hearts in the process. But then four minutes after that, scoring at the goal of the century.

That was the brilliance of the late, great Diego Maradona. And then 1998, of course, I remember when David Beckham was brandished a red card. This fixture does have a history of red cards.

Beckham getting sent off for kicking out an opponent, Diego Simeone. So there's been a big, big sort of attention to detail when it comes to cards, and I will say the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, getting exasperated at times because he wants the referee to stay very much in control of this feisty contest, Omar.

KEILAR: Yes, and Patrick, the world is watching. The world is partying. I love the music behind you.

It makes me want to dance. We actually have some live pictures here. You can see London there on the left, Buenos Aires on the right, pretty pumped there in Argentina.

So there's a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of nerves, I would say. Patrick, how's Lionel Messi continuing to stand out at this World Cup at 39 years old?

SNELL: Yes, just incredible. There are thousands of fans, as I've said, right here behind me, and so many of them who can't get into the stadium. The next best thing is to watch it here, as you referenced, with the amazing carnival atmosphere, getting a sneak peek of Lionel Messi.

And there was one lovely moment near the end of the first half when Messi weaved his magic, beat a couple of opponents, and then was sent sprawling to the ground, was fouled. There was a big roar went up here, as though they'd taken it personally that Messi had actually been injured. But he's remarkable.

39 years of age in a record-equaling six World Cup. He has a tournament high, eight goals. He's leading the race for the coveted golden boot, tied with Kylian Mbappe of France.

Of course, France have been eliminated, but it's just remarkable what Messi is doing at 39. He kind of drifts around, he glides, it's effortless. He doesn't have much pace anymore.

He never really did, but I tell you what, he has everyone absolutely mesmerized, not just the fans here, but their opponents, his opponents. I'm looking forward to the second half. I will say it can only get better as far as this match is concerned.

Back to you.

KEILAR: All right, Patrick Snell with the best job in the world today. Thank you so much.

Well, what is a dream job for people who love trivia? If you answered, what is Jeopardy? Well, you might be exactly who the beloved quiz show is looking for. Right now, the show's executive producer is sifting through a heap of applications for its new writer position.

[16:00:00]

The team opened its hiring process to the public earlier this month for the first time ever, and applying for the role, which is now closed, appeared to be pretty tough.

Omar, I think you could do that.

JIMENEZ: I don't think so, but, hey, I'm going to trust you on that.

KEILAR: You're a smart guy. And here's a rather smart woman coming up. THE ARENA with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END