House Votes to Censure Delegate Stacey Plaskett Over Epstein Communications

The House will vote Tuesday evening on a measure to censure Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat delegate who represents the Virgin Islands, and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee due to her past communications with Jeffrey Epstein. Documents from the Epstein estate that were recently released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee show Plaskett was in contact with the disgraced financier, who owned private islands in the Virgin Islands and was a donor to Plaskett’s campaign, during a 2019 hearing with President Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen. According to The Washington Post, Epstein appeared to suggest to Plaskett during the hearing that she ask Cohen about Trump’s former executive assistant, which she then did. The censure move, which was brought by Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, states that Plaskett “was actively coached by Epstein during the hearing, received instructions on specific lines of questioning, and was congratulated afterwards with the message ‘Good work.'” It continues, “Delegate Plaskett’s willingness to receive instructions on official congressional proceedings from Epstein, a convicted felony sex offender with deeply concerning international associations, is especially alarming and inappropriate given her own past service in the U.S. Department of Justice and her current role on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and raises serious questions about Delegate Plaskett’s judgment, integrity, and fitness to serve.” The censure also calls for a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee into Plaskett’s conduct. Plaskett’s office told the Post in a statement that she “received texts from staff, constituents, and the public at large offering advice, support and in some cases partisan vitriol, including from Epstein.” The statement adds, “As a former prosecutor she welcomes information that helps her get at the truth and took on the GOP that was trying to bury the truth.” The congresswoman has previously made clear her long record combating sexual assault and human trafficking, her disgust over Epstein’s deviant behavior and her support for his victims. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a press conference Tuesday that Republicans were being hypocritical for targeting Plaskett after fighting the release of the Justice Department’s Epstein files for the past few months. “It’s interesting, now, that Republicans want to try to find a way to use this issue, after spending months talking negatively about these files,” Aguilar said.