House Votes Down GOP Censure Bid Targeting Del. Stacey Plaskett After Epstein Texts Released

The House on Tuesday evening rejected a Republican-led resolution to censure Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.) and remove her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence after documents showed she exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a February 2019 congressional hearing.

Vote and context

The resolution, advanced by members of the House Freedom Caucus and introduced by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), failed by a vote of 209-214-3. Three Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon (Neb.), Lance Gooden (Texas) and David Joyce (Ohio) — joined all House Democrats in voting "no," while three other Republicans were recorded as "present."

What documents show

Documents released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from the Epstein estate include text exchanges showing Plaskett communicating with Epstein around the time of a hearing that featured Michael Cohen, the former lawyer for President Trump. According to the released material, Epstein suggested a line of questioning for Plaskett during the hearing, Plaskett raised the question on the record, and Epstein later texted her "good work."

"Delegate Plaskett’s willingness to receive instructions on official congressional proceedings from Epstein, a convicted felony sex offender with deeply concerning international associations, ... raises serious questions about Delegate Plaskett’s judgment, integrity, and fitness to serve."

Plaskett's response

Plaskett mounted a vigorous defense on the House floor, calling the resolution "political theater" and arguing the texts show no participation in illegal activity. She noted it was not publicly known at the time that Epstein was under active investigation and said she donated all campaign contributions she had received from Epstein to organizations supporting women.

"They've taken a text exchange which shows no participation, no assistance, no involvement in any illegal activity and weaponized it for political theater because that is what this is," Plaskett said. She added that she would continue her congressional work even if stripped of committee assignments.

Broader fallout

The censure effort came hours after Congress advanced separate bipartisan action directing the Department of Justice to release files related to Epstein. Had Plaskett been censured, Democrats planned to bring a retaliatory resolution to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.), who recently faced a restraining order at the request of an ex-girlfriend.

Epstein, who owned a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was later convicted of sex-related crimes, had previously made donations to Plaskett's campaign. Plaskett initially said she was unlikely to return those contributions after Epstein's conviction in 2019 but later announced she would donate the funds to women's organizations.