Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Misstatement on Epstein Donations

Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett from Texas found herself in hot water on Wednesday after inaccurately claiming that Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, received political contributions from Jeffrey Epstein, who is a registered sex offender. Crockett maintained that her intention was not to deceive anyone.

This statement emerged during a debate on the House floor concerning a bill that would compel the Trump administration to disclose documents related to Epstein. As she spoke on “The Source” with host Caitlin Collins, Crockett mentioned she had “maybe 20 minutes” to prepare beforehand.

“I never claimed it was Jeffrey Epstein,” Crockett stated. “I want people to realize that when donations are made, the donor’s photo isn’t included. With this being thrown at us in real-time, I wanted to provoke some thoughts about potential ramifications for the Republican Party. My team looked it up on Google, and that’s why I specifically mentioned ‘Jeffrey Epstein.’ Unlike Republicans, at least I’m not out here telling lies.”

“It wasn’t the same thing, so that’s acceptable, but when Lee Zeldin had a chance to respond, he could have simply said, ‘That was a different Jeffrey Epstein,'” she elaborated. “He acknowledged receiving donations from a Jeffrey Epstein, so, really, I wasn’t trying to mislead anyone. Have I researched who the doctor is? Not yet. I believe what he said—it wasn’t the Jeffrey Epstein in question—but I wasn’t trying to deceive anybody. I literally had like 20 minutes to get my argument together.”

Zeldin was quick to counter Crockett’s assertions in a post on X, saying, “Yes, Crockett. A doctor named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (not to be confused with the other Jeffrey Epstein) contributed to my previous campaign,” and he included a clap emoji to emphasize his point.

It took a mere ten minutes for the Daily Caller News Foundation to verify that the contribution to Zeldin’s campaign occurred in April 2020, months after the financier was arrested in 2019 and allegedly committed suicide while awaiting trial. The Epstein in question was revealed to be a self-employed physician.

Crockett defended herself, saying, “Honestly, I had no idea. I had my team look up the FEC file, and I texted them saying, ‘We’re asserting she received donations…'” Collins interrupted, pointing out, “But someone might argue your team should have made sure it wasn’t a convicted sex trafficker.”

“I couldn’t find anything in 20 minutes with a quick search on the FEC,” Crockett replied. “I made it clear it was Jeffrey Epstein, but I never specifically said it was the Jeffrey Epstein because I realized I needed more time for thorough research.”

On Sunday, President Donald Trump urged Republicans to back a bill aimed at making the files public. The House passed this bill on Tuesday with an overwhelming 427-1 vote. Trump announced he signed it into law on Wednesday night after the Senate approved it unanimously.