Following the verdict in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) did not mince words when stating what he wants to see happen next.
“This verdict shouldn’t be the end,” Sasse said in a brief press release after a jury found Maxwell guilty on Wednesday. “The DOJ needs to go after every single scumbag who committed crimes with Maxwell and Epstein.”
Maxwell was found guilty on five of six counts on Wednesday, The Daily Wire reported. Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend was convicted of “conspiracy to entice individuals under 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in ‘illegal sexual activity,’ conspiracy to transport individuals under 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in ‘illegal sexual activity, transportation of an individual under 17 with intent to engage in ‘illegal sexual activity,’ conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of individuals under 18, and sex trafficking of an individual under 18.”
She will be sentenced at a later date and will face another trial for two perjury charges.
Sasse, a member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, has regularly called on the DOJ to do its job in regard to investigating Epstein. He constantly pressed the DOJ to look into its “sweetheart deal” with Epstein, and in February 2019, the DOJ opened an investigation into its handling of the convicted pedophile.
In November 2020, Sasse said in a statement, “Letting a well-connected billionaire get away with child rape and international sex trafficking isn’t ‘poor judgment’ – it is a disgusting failure. Americans ought to be enraged. Jeffrey Epstein should be rotting behind bars today, but the Justice Department failed Epstein’s victims at every turn. The DOJ’s crooked deal with Epstein effectively shut down investigations into his child sex trafficking ring and protected his co-conspirators in other states. Justice has not been served. The full report needs to be released to the public. OPR might have finished its report, but we have an obligation to make sure this never happens again.”
After Epstein was found dead in prison, Sasse wrote to Attorney General William Barr, criticizing the lack of precautions taken. “The Department of Justice failed, and today Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirators think they might have just gotten one last sweetheart deal,” wrote Sasse. “Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him. Given Epstein’s previous attempted suicide, he should have been locked in a padded room under unbroken, 24/7, constant surveillance. Obviously, heads must roll.”
After the Maxwell verdict, Sasse didn’t wait long to once again lambaste the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell crime ring. “Justice must be done,” he said. “Epstein and Maxwell’s victims deserve nothing less. The DOJ failed again and again and again when Epstein escaped justice. Maxwell must pay for her heinous crimes.”