NEWS

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A powerful Democrat is refusing to commit to issuing a subpoena for more transparent versions of Jeffrey Epstein's flight logs.

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in Washington on April 18, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, declined to tell a reporter or Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who wants the subpoena issued, that he would support the effort.

Ms. Blackburn, in late November, tried bringing forth an amendment for a vote that would authorize the subpoena but was blocked by GOP colleagues, who invoked a rule that led to the hearing ending after about two hours.

When Mr. Durbin was asked on Dec. 5 whether he'd issue the subpoena, he demurred.

"I don't know anything about his flight logs. I know who Epstein was but I certainly don't know anything about the issue," he told a Fox News reporter in Washington.

Mr. Durbin also falsely said that the matter "has never been raised by anyone."

After entering a committee hearing in which members questioned the FBI's director on various topics, Mr. Durbin told Ms. Blackburn that he was not aware that one of her amendments was a subpoena for Mr. Epstein's flight logs.

"I do not know anything about this request," he said.

An aide for Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month acknowledged that Ms. Blackburn's attempt to issue the subpoena was blocked during the Nov. 30 committee hearing before noting that Republicans, led by Ranking Member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) invoked a rule that ended discussion on amendments for the subpoenas that were ultimately approved for a billionaire and conservative activist linked to Supreme Court justices.

Mr. Graham's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Durbin "falsely claimed he was not aware of Senator Marsha Blackburn’s amendment to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs," Ms. Blackburn's office said in a statement.

Ms. Blackburn was prevented from speaking in the November hearing by Republicans after Mr. Durbin asked her to kick off the amendment process. But in an earlier hearing in November, she said she'd filed for a subpoena for Mr. Epstein's flight logs.

"Given the numerous allegations of human trafficking and abuse surrounding Mr. Epstein, we’ve got to identify everyone who could have participated in his horrific conduct," she said at the time.

Ms. Blackburn blamed Mr. Durbin and other Democrats for there not being a vote yet on the proposal.

“It’s perplexing why Chairman Durbin blocked Senator Blackburn’s amendment request to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s estate," a spokesperson for Ms. Blackburn told The Epoch Times via email.

"I think you are fully aware that I had two amendments, one dealing with Epstein," Ms. Blackburn said on Tuesday. Mr. Durbin said he was not aware. "I brought it up previously," Ms. Blackburn said. Mr. Durbin said she did not.

The subpoena "should be at the top of this committee's to-do list," she also said.

A request for comment to a spokesperson for Mr. Durbin was not returned.

"I did not know that you offered that amendment. I want a point on the record you and I have never personally discussed this, have we?" Mr. Durbin said.

Ms. Blackburn said they spoke briefly after the abrupt end to the late November hearing.

"You never mentioned what subject matter your amendment was," Mr. Durbin said.

"In committee, I brought up the subject matter of my amendment three weeks prior," Ms. Blackburn said.

"Not in my presence," Mr. Durbin said.

"I will pull the transcript for you," Ms. Blackburn said.

Then-President Bill Clinton welcomes Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to the White House in a 1993 file image. (William J. Clinton Presidential Library)

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