Kash Patel has expressed his intent to collaborate with Congress to probe the Jeffrey Epstein child trafficking issue, contingent upon his approval as the new FBI director under Donald Trump.
While giving testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel stated that tackling child trafficking would be one of his main focuses.
He made this commitment after Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, voiced her frustrations over the previous administration’s obstructions in her efforts to obtain the flight logs for Epstein’s aircraft, famously referred to as the “Lolita Express.”
“I want to discuss the Epstein situation with you,” Blackburn stated. “For years, I have advocated for transparency regarding the records of who was aboard Epstein’s plane and who assisted him in establishing his international human trafficking and sex trafficking operations.”
Blackburn noted that “dismantling these trafficking networks is a key concern for President Trump,” who had been a personal associate of the deceased convicted sex offender.
“Will you assist me in this matter?” she inquired of Patel, “so we can identify those who collaborated with Jeffrey Epstein in creating these sex trafficking networks?”
“Absolutely, senator,” Patel affirmed. “Child sex trafficking should not exist in the United States of America. If confirmed as FBI director, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the American public understands the full extent of past incidents and our plans to combat missing and exploited children going forward.”
Blackburn accused the committee’s senior Democrat, Sen. Dick Durban, of hindering her request for the names of Epstein’s associates who traveled on his jet.
Durban countered that he was “wrongly accused” of obstructing the release of the flight logs.
“We have been tackling this issue for a significant duration. I anticipate an FBI willing to assist in acquiring these records and eradicating human and sex trafficking in our nation,” Blackburn remarked.
Although several notable figures have surfaced as passengers on Epstein’s aircraft, including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, certain flight logs remain unreleased. There is no implication of wrongdoing on the part of either Trump or Clinton.
The interaction proved to be more straightforward for Patel, who defended himself against criticism from Democrats on the committee who insinuated that his nomination was based solely on his willingness to cater to Donald Trump.
Patel asserted that he would not involve politics in the FBI should he secure confirmation and indicated that he might not have agreed with granting pardons for all those involved in the events of January 6.
He also refuted claims of endorsing the conspiracy theory group QAnon and expressed support for Capitol Police personnel during the January 6 events, despite earlier allegations that he labeled them as “cowards in uniform.”
During a particularly heated moment, Patel claimed he had faced racism and had been called a “detestable sand n—– who had no place in this country.”
“However, that pales in comparison to what law enforcement personnel encounter daily,” he concluded.
