Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has demanded that the Senate Judiciary Committee issue a subpoena to obtain a list of passengers who traveled aboard convicted sex offender’s Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous “Lolita Express” airplane.
Ms. Blackburn made the request during a Senate hearing on Nov. 9 regarding the authorization of subpoenas for Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. The hearing is part of a probe into the ethics of Supreme Court justices as Democrats push legislation that would impose a code of ethics on the high court. Republicans say the Democrat-backed legislation is unconstitutional.
During the hearing, Ms. Blackburn denounced the investigation as a “charade” and “smear campaign” against the Supreme Court that she claimed was being pursued to delegitimize the high court.
“I find this whole charade disgusting,“ the Tennessee Republican said. ”Since the Dobbs leak, our Supreme Court justices—in particular, Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett—have been subjected to threats on the lives of themselves and their families.”
She objected to the committee’s focus on the investigation while some justices reportedly face death threats, calling the probe misguided and “embarrassing.”
“Ultimately, you’re doing this for one reason: You don’t agree with the Court’s recent decisions or its ideological makeup, so you want to do everything you can to delegitimize the Court as an institution,” she told committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Ms. Blackburn argued that a better use of the committee’s time would be to subpoena the estate of Mr. Epstein to obtain the flight logs for the “Lolita Express.”
“Since we’re in the business of issuing subpoenas now, here are a few more that I’ve filed,” Ms. Blackburn said. “A subpoena to Jeffrey Epstein’s estate to provide the flight logs for his private plane.”
“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 added.
Lolita Express
Dubbed the “Lolita Express,” Mr. Epstein’s private plane was allegedly used to fly underage girls to his various properties around the world, including to his private island in the Caribbean.During court testimony in the trial of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, former pilot Lawrence Paul Visoski revealed a laundry list of prominent figures who allegedly were guests on Mr. Epstein’s plane. The list is said to include Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, and Kevin Spacey, former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, as well as 2024 presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy Jr.
No evidence has been found to suggest that anyone who flew on Mr. Epstein’s plane engaged in criminal activity.
Ms. Blackburn is demanding the release of all remaining flight logs from Mr. Epstein’s plane.
Mr. Epstein died at age 66 in a federal jail cell in New York while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. While his death was officially ruled as suicide by hanging, there has been speculation of foul play.
Some have pointed to Mr. Epstein’s connections to powerful individuals, some of whom may have been implicated in illicit activities with him and would have wanted to keep him quiet.
