President Donald Trump's return to the White House could clear the way for the public to finally see a glimpse of Jeffrey Epstein's long-awaited "black book," as questions about the deceased financier and sex trafficker continue to swirl years after he was found dead in a federal jail in New York City.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who has long called for the government to release more of its evidence against Epstein and his potential accomplices, raised the issue during a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday for Trump's FBI director nominee, Kash Patel.
"I have been working on this for years, trying to get those records of who flew on Epstein's plane and who helped him build this international human trafficking, sex trafficking ring," Blackburn told the nominee.
She said past attempts to convince former committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, to subpoena the information failed, and former FBI Director Christopher Wray declined to hand it over to her as well.
"Will you work with me on this issue, so we know who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in building these sex trafficking rings?" Blackburn asked Patel.
"Absolutely, senator," Patel replied. "Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America, and I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to countermand missing children and exploited children going forward."
Durbin's office previously denied allegations that he "stonewalled" Blackburn's request and blamed "an obscure Senate rule" for ending debate on the issue.
More than a year has gone by, and the records remain out of public view.
"Jeffrey Epstein built a disgusting global sex trafficking network that caused irreparable damage to countless women," Blackburn said last week. "Americans deserve to know exactly who was affiliated with this network."
Epstein, a 66-year-old millionaire financier with a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands and mansions around the country, died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who has long called for the government to release more of its evidence against Epstein and his potential accomplices, raised the issue during a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday for Trump's FBI director nominee, Kash Patel.
"I have been working on this for years, trying to get those records of who flew on Epstein's plane and who helped him build this international human trafficking, sex trafficking ring," Blackburn told the nominee.
She said past attempts to convince former committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, to subpoena the information failed, and former FBI Director Christopher Wray declined to hand it over to her as well.
"Will you work with me on this issue, so we know who worked with Jeffrey Epstein in building these sex trafficking rings?" Blackburn asked Patel.
"Absolutely, senator," Patel replied. "Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America, and I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to countermand missing children and exploited children going forward."
Durbin's office previously denied allegations that he "stonewalled" Blackburn's request and blamed "an obscure Senate rule" for ending debate on the issue.
More than a year has gone by, and the records remain out of public view.
"Jeffrey Epstein built a disgusting global sex trafficking network that caused irreparable damage to countless women," Blackburn said last week. "Americans deserve to know exactly who was affiliated with this network."
Epstein, a 66-year-old millionaire financier with a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands and mansions around the country, died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
