Democrat Congresswoman Faces Censure for Texts With Epstein

Democrat Delegate Stacy Plaskett of the Virgin Islands could face censure after revelations that she was texting with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 House hearing, and apparently taking cues on questions to ask. 

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., introduced the censure resolution the same day the House voted to release the Epstein files. 

In addition to the censure, the resolution also calls for “removing her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for conduct that reflects discreditably on the House of Representatives for colluding with convicted felony sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing.”

It further “directs the Committee on Ethics to conduct a full investigation into the extent of Plaskett’s ties to Epstein and any potential further improprieties.” 

Plaskett’s office did not immediately respond to phone and email inquiries for this story. 

However, she defended herself on the House floor, noting that Epstein was a constituent and reached out to her after a viral exchange in the hearing. She said the did not represent an endorsement of Epstein.

“As a former prosecutor handling the worst felonies and innumerable narcotics cases, I have learned to receive information from sources I do not like to obtain information that helps me get at the truth,” Plaskett said.

She said, “Due diligence is not grounds for censure, nor does it have any bearing on a member’s committee standing.”

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released 23,000 pages of documents from the Epstein estate last week that included the text messages. 

The texts came during a 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing in which former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testified negatively against his former boss. 

The questions Plaskett asked seemed to closely follow what was in the text messages from Epstein, who died in a prison cell later that year in what federal officials determined was a suicide. 

“Jeffrey Epstein was a predator who exploited minors. The idea that any member of Congress would coordinate with him on official proceedings is beyond comprehension,” Norman said in a statement. “This was not casual contact. These were deliberate communications that shaped part of a hearing designed to attack President Trump. It raises serious questions about judgment, integrity, and fitness to serve.”

The censure resolution notes that Epstein’s history was known well before the hearing. It pointed out that Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to two charges, procuring a minor for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. He was later charged federally in 2019 for sex trafficking of minors.

“Members of Congress owe the American people honesty and ethical conduct,” Norman continued. “No one who turns to a convicted predator for input on how to conduct official business, especially in a congressional hearing, should sit on the Intelligence Committee or any committee, for that matter. This is about restoring trust in an institution that desperately needs it.”

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