Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn called on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs as the committee’s ‘first act’ when it resumes business next week.
Fox News Digital obtained Blackburn’s Wednesday letter to Durbin in which she called on the chairman to subpoena the unredacted versions of Epstein’s flight logs and Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘little black book’ when the committee resumes work.
Epstein, the former financier and convicted sex offender, died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial. His death was ruled a suicide. Maxwell, who was Epstein’s accomplice and former girlfriend, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2021 for child sex trafficking.
Blackburn’s letter comes as names from Epstein’s logs are set to be released this week.
The Tennessee senator told Fox News Digital that while she could not say who was on Epstein’s list, it is ‘important for us to keep in mind that this is one list from one trial involving one victim, one judge, and there are many other victims.’
Blackburn said she wanted to get transparency to discover ‘who was involved in what way with Epstein, so that we can begin to break apart this sex trafficking ring and figure out who all was involved with him.’
‘Are they still involved in sex trafficking? Was there any association with cartels?’ she continued. ‘We have and we’re hearing from mayors all across the country about the proliferation of sex trafficking rings and how they have seen this.’
‘We’ve watched human trafficking become about [a] $150 billion-a-year business. And as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Human Rights, it’s important to me that we continue the work we’re doing to fight against this human trafficking.’
Blackburn said Epstein’s list is ‘going to be a mix of individuals’ who were involved with him in some way and that the ‘names of the victims are going to be kept private.’
The Tennessee Republican said she sent a letter to Durbin in which she called on him to subpoena the names on Epstein’s list and in Maxwell’s ‘little black book.’
A Durbin spokesperson in a statement told Fox News Digital that since ‘Senator Durbin became Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, protecting children from sexual exploitation has been one of the Committee’s top priorities.’
‘Last year, he chaired a hearing on [kids’] online safety. And this month, the Committee will hold a hearing with Big Tech CEOs to discuss their failures to protect children from exploitation online,’ the spokesperson stated. ‘Chair Durbin has also worked to ensure that DOJ’s unethical non-prosecution agreement with Jeffrey Epstein is investigated.’
‘As he has made clear in Committee, his Inspector General Access Act would allow the Inspector General to investigate that non-prosecution agreement,’ the spokesperson added.
‘Prior to the Committee’s November 9 Supreme Court ethics subpoena markup, Senator Blackburn had never raised Epstein’s flight logs with Chair Durbin either publicly or privately. During a later markup, Chair Durbin tried to recognize Senator Blackburn multiple times so that she could offer her amendment, but her Republican colleagues prevented her from doing so by filibustering and then invoking an obscure Senate rule to end the markup. Chair Durbin is happy to work with Senator Blackburn on a bipartisan basis to obtain any relevant Epstein records.’
Blackburn noted in her letter that last year she ‘offered an amendment to authorize a subpoena for the complete, unredacted Epstein flight logs’ and said that after Durbin ‘initially stonewalled my repeated requests for this subpoena,’ she ‘was pleased to learn of [Durbin’s] recent change of heart.’
‘The unsealing of these documents, which has the potential to reveal the names of over 170 individuals associated with Jeffrey Epstein, is a critically important step forward in providing Mr. Epstein’s victims the transparency and justice they deserve,’ Blackburn wrote in her letter to Durbin.
‘With this positive development in mind, I am writing to follow up on our previous discussions about subpoenaing the complete, unredacted flight logs from Mr. Epstein’s private jets and helicopter, as well as Ghislaine Maxwell’s unredacted ‘little black book,’’ she continued.
1.3.24 Blackburn Letter to … by Houston Keene
‘Specifically, in a note to Senator Ossoff during a December 14, 2023, subcommittee hearing, you conveyed your ‘intention and willingness’ to work with me ‘on a bipartisan basis to obtain records relevant to the Jeffrey Epstein case,’’ Blackburn wrote.
‘I greatly appreciate that you have agreed to work with me to subpoena these flight logs and the ‘little black book,’ as well as all additional records relevant to this matter,’ she added.
Blackburn wrote that while ‘redacted portions of Epstein’s flight logs and Maxwell’s ‘little black book’ have been released in various lawsuits, the American people have the right to know who flew on Epstein’s plane and who potentially participated in his international sex trafficking ring.’
‘That is why the Judiciary Committee’s very first act when the Senate resumes business next week should be to authorize a subpoena to Jeffrey Epstein’s estate and the FBI to obtain the complete and unredacted Epstein flight logs and Ghislaine Maxwell’s ‘little black book,’’ Blackburn wrote.
‘I hope I can rely on your commitment to work with me to obtain these records so that we can finally bring transparency to the American people and justice to the women and children who Jeffrey Epstein and his associates trafficked and abused,’ she added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Durbin’s office for comment.
