Nebraska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn canceled a Washington, D.C., fundraiser on Tuesday that had been scheduled to be co-hosted by Democratic consultant Dana Chasin. The cancellation came after renewed attention to Chasin’s name appearing in a 2024 email released by the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Chasin previously served as a policy adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and has worked for former Democratic Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Tim Johnson of South Dakota. His name appears in an email written by attorney Jeanne Christensen, who told the Justice Department that her client had been sexually abused by billionaire investor Leon Black, a known associate of Epstein. In the email, Christensen stated that her client had been transported to New York City on a private plane owned by Chasin.
The cancellation of the fundraiser was first reported by Politico. In a statement to the outlet, an Osborn campaign spokesperson said that anyone who harmed children or engaged in illegal activity should be arrested and prosecuted. On Wednesday, the campaign referred additional media inquiries to that statement.
Chasin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Osborn, who is running as an independent against incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts, lost his 2024 Senate bid to Republican Senator Deb Fischer by about seven percentage points. The Nebraska Democratic Party is not fielding its own candidate in the current race, and many state and local Democrats have expressed support for Osborn.
Chasin, an heir to the Rockefeller family with degrees from Yale and Harvard, is the founder of 20/20 Vision, an economic policy research and advocacy organization. Federal Election Commission records show that he donated $3,300 to Osborn’s 2024 campaign. He has not contributed to Osborn’s campaign this year, though records indicate he donated $82,600 in January to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Chasin has been a longtime donor to Democratic candidates and political action committees dating back to the 1990s.
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