Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Tuesday she remains committed to making sure those who helped Jeffrey Epstein traffic underage girls be held accountable.
Blackburn appeared on "Ed Henry The Big Take," after members of Congress were able to gain access to unredacted versions of the Justice Department's files on the convicted sex offender.
The Tennessee senator, who is also running for governor, said she believes the abusers and perpetrators will eventually face justice.
"I do think they will be held accountable," Blackburn said. "And for me, this was never an issue of celebrity."
"It was figuring out who was working with Jeffrey Epstein because he had built a global human trafficking, sex trafficking ring," Blackburn added. "And the women and children deserve justice through this process."
"Sex trafficking has become a $350 billion-a-year business," Blackburn continued. "So making certain that we find out who all is involved in this and that we do hold them to account and that we close down this global network that they have had, it is an imperative."
Blackburn said she would like to obtain the banking records of those involved.
On Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee he had visited Epstein's private island in 2012, contradicting claims he made on a podcast that he had only visited Epstein's home once in 2005 and left.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of criminal solicitation of an underage prostitute.
"I have not talked to Secretary Lutnick about this, and I don't know if this is something that maybe he had forgotten about having lunch with someone," Blackburn said.
"You know, sometimes it's hard to remember who all you do meet in the course of your work and your business," Blackburn added.
"I don't know, so I really have no comment or reference to the situation," Blackburn continued.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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