Delegate Stacey Plaskett defended her 2019 texts with Jeffrey Epstein, saying she contacted him to gather information rather than to form a friendship. The exchanges occurred during Michael Cohen's February 2019 testimony about alleged payments tied to President Trump. A Republican-led censure effort failed after Democratic leaders rallied to Plaskett's defense. Plaskett framed the outreach as part of investigative work, comparing it to interviewing other criminal informants.
Stacey Plaskett Defends Texts with Jeffrey Epstein: 'You Get Information From People Where You Can'
Delegate Stacey Plaskett defended her 2019 texts with Jeffrey Epstein, saying she contacted him to gather information rather than to form a friendship. The exchanges occurred during Michael Cohen's February 2019 testimony about alleged payments tied to President Trump. A Republican-led censure effort failed after Democratic leaders rallied to Plaskett's defense. Plaskett framed the outreach as part of investigative work, comparing it to interviewing other criminal informants.
04:41 AM, 11/20/2025Politics
Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands defended her 2019 text exchanges with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a recent interview, saying she reached out to obtain information rather than to build a relationship.
The messages were sent during former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's February 2019 congressional testimony, when Cohen alleged President Donald Trump arranged payments to conceal alleged extramarital affairs. Texts that later surfaced online showed Epstein taking a keen interest in Plaskett's line of questioning; in one message he wrote, "He’s opened the door to questions re who are the other henchmen at Trump Org." Plaskett replied, "Yup. Very aware and waiting my turn."
The House Freedom Caucus led an effort to censure Plaskett over the exchanges, but the motion failed after Democratic leaders defended the delegate. Representative Jamie Raskin (D‑Md.) called the censure bid a distraction from broader Epstein-related material released in recent disclosures.
"And, as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can," Plaskett said, explaining why she communicated with someone she believed had relevant information.
When asked whether contacting Epstein was an "error in judgment" given earlier accusations of sex trafficking, Plaskett pointed to her investigative background. "There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes," she said, noting her long experience interviewing confidential informants, narcotics suspects and others. "That doesn't mean that I'm their friend. It means they have information that I need, and I'm trying to get at the truth."
Plaskett emphasized she was seeking facts, not cultivating a personal relationship, and said she intends to move forward with her work in Congress.