Nebraska Senate Candidate Caught Red-Handed After Failed Cover-Up of Epstein-Linked Fundraiser

Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn scrambled to delete evidence of his planned fundraiser with an Epstein-connected Democratic mega-donor only after getting caught—keeping the donation link active for days after claiming he had canceled the controversial event.

The hypocrisy is staggering.

Osborn, who fashioned himself as a crusader against the so-called “Epstein class,” had no problem accepting help from Dana Chasin—a high-powered Democratic strategist from the Rockefeller family whose name appears in the notorious Epstein files. An email in those files allegedly referenced Chasin in connection with moving children on a plane for the convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Chasin has denied the allegations. But that’s not the point.

The Damning Timeline

Here’s what actually happened: Osborn planned a fundraiser with Chasin. The Epstein connection became public. Osborn claimed he immediately canceled the event out of moral principle.

Except he didn’t.

The ActBlue donation link featuring Chasin’s name as part of the host committee remained live and active—soliciting contributions for Osborn—until Monday morning. Only after being confronted about the active fundraising page did the Osborn campaign finally take it down.

This isn’t a mistake. This is calculated deception.

Follow the Money

The Osborn campaign now admits that Chasin donated $3,300 to his 2024 Senate campaign. Their response? They donated an equivalent amount to an anti-human trafficking charity—as if that erases the original sin of accepting money from someone named in the Epstein files.

That’s not accountability. That’s damage control.

Senator Pete Ricketts has exposed this two-faced behavior in a devastating new digital ad that lays bare Osborn’s rank opportunism. “Even after that information was public, Osborn continued to raise money with Chasin until he got caught,” the ad states with surgical precision.

The Fake Populist Act Crumbles

Osborn built his entire political brand on righteous indignation about the elite establishment and their moral corruption. He railed against the “Epstein class” and positioned himself as the champion of working people against entrenched power.

Then a wealthy Democratic donor with alleged Epstein ties offered to fill his campaign coffers, and suddenly all that moral outrage evaporated like morning fog.

The candidate who claims to stand with victims of exploitation had no problem standing with their alleged enablers—as long as the checks cleared.

Desperate Deflection

Faced with undeniable evidence of his hypocrisy, Osborn’s campaign resorted to the oldest trick in the Democrat playbook: attack, distort, and deflect.

They accused Ricketts of being part of the “Epstein Class” and claimed he voted against releasing the Epstein files. This is a brazen lie. The Epstein Files Transparency Act passed the Senate with unanimous consent. What some Republicans opposed was a hastily constructed Democratic amendment to a defense spending bill—a transparent political stunt designed to create exactly this kind of false attack line.

The distinction matters, and Osborn knows it.

His spokesperson claimed the fundraiser was “immediately” canceled upon learning of Chasin’s Epstein connections. The active donation link proves that statement is categorically false.

Why This Matters for Nebraska

Nebraska voters deserve better than a candidate who says one thing and does another. They deserve better than someone who will compromise his supposed principles the moment a wealthy coastal elite waves a checkbook.

Osborn lost to Senator Deb Fischer in 2024, capturing 46.5% of the vote despite his populist positioning. Now he’s challenging Ricketts, apparently believing Nebraskans won’t notice when his actions directly contradict his words.

The Cook Political Report rates this race as “Solid Republican”—and revelations like this make it clear why.

The Broader Pattern

This incident exemplifies a troubling pattern with Independent candidates who claim to transcend partisan politics. They position themselves as outsiders fighting the establishment while quietly courting the very establishment figures they publicly denounce.

Osborn wants to have it both ways: rail against the elite donor class while building his campaign with their money, condemn the Epstein connections while fundraising with people named in the Epstein files, and claim immediate action while maintaining active solicitations for days after being exposed.

That’s not independence. That’s fraud.

Will Coup, communications director for Ricketts for Senate, put it perfectly: “Dan Osborn built his brand on moral outrage over Epstein. But when a wealthy Democrat donor named in the Epstein files offered to host a fundraiser, that outrage disappeared fast. Fake Dan Osborn chose campaign cash over the values he pretends to stand for.”

The Verdict Is Clear

The release of the Epstein files has triggered political earthquakes worldwide, including arrests in the United Kingdom of figures like former Prince Andrew and former British Ambassador Peter Mandelson. The documents continue exposing the networks of power, influence, and alleged complicity that enabled Epstein’s crimes.

Dan Osborn had a choice when confronted with these revelations: stand firm on principle or chase donor dollars. He chose the money. Then he tried to cover it up. Then he got caught.

Nebraska voters now have all the information they need to render judgment on a candidate whose moral compass points wherever the campaign contributions flow.

The only thing immediate about Osborn’s response was his willingness to compromise his stated values. Everything else—including the supposed cancellation of his Epstein-linked fundraiser—happened only after he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

That’s not the leadership Nebraska needs in the United States Senate.