Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) slammed Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) for “not telling the truth” about his involvement in not revealing files related to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Durbin said that when he was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) didn’t turn in the necessary paperwork to fulfill a subpoena of Epstein’s flight logs in 2023. Burchett appeared on CNN News Central on Monday to dispute Durbin’s claim.
“He’s not telling the truth, ma’am. Go back and watch the tapes. He was an obstructionist,” Burchett told CNN host Kate Bolduan. “He acted like he didn’t know what [Blackburn] was talking about.”
Shortly after Blackburn called for the subpoena, Durbin held a hearing in which he claimed Blackburn hadn’t brought up Epstein “one time” before that hearing. Blackburn corrected the chairman during the hearing and on social media. According to Blackburn, Durbin continued to “block” her proposed subpoenas.
“That is clearly [Durbin] going fast with the rules there. She diligently asked for those things, and he completely mansplained her the whole time, and no one paid any attention to it, and now they are,” Burchett said. “I just don’t think he’s telling the truth, ma’am.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Durbin’s office for comment.
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Durbin claimed he would have been “happy to” subpoena anyone related to the case while on CNN News Central last week. According to the senator, allegations that Democratic lawmakers were covering up the Epstein files are “just plain wrong and false.”
Blackburn hasn’t posted online about Epstein since February, likely pursuing the tactic by most other Republican lawmakers who opted not to talk about Epstein, as advised by the president.