House Freedom Caucus Fails to Censure Rep. Plaskett

A recent push by the House Freedom Caucus to remove certain Democratic members linked to Jeffrey Epstein from critical committees did not succeed on Tuesday night.

Lawmakers opted not to censure Rep. Stacy Plaskett (D.V.I.), a nonvoting delegate from the Virgin Islands, despite newly released text messages between her and Epstein that came to light during Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony in February 2019.

The proposed censure included a provision to take Plaskett off the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which supervises agencies like the FBI and CIA while receiving classified briefings on security matters.

Three Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the bill, and three others supported it. Ultimately, the resolution was defeated with a vote count of 209 to 214.

During the bill’s discussion, Rep. Ralph Norman (R.C.), who introduced the resolution, highlighted concerns about the integrity of the House, referencing alarming documents released by Epstein’s estate. He stated that these documents indicated Plaskett coordinated questioning during oversight hearings with someone who has a criminal background, including crimes against minors.

In response, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led the opposition to the resolution, labeled the bill a desperate distraction, noting that the president’s name appears numerous times in the materials related to Epstein.

Raskin called attention to the fact that Epstein was considered a “voter” of Plaskett’s, given her territory in the Virgin Islands. He also stressed that neither Plaskett nor Trump has faced charges regarding Epstein’s offenses.

Printed messages exchanged during the 2019 public hearing suggested Epstein was closely involved with guiding questions posed by Plaskett. In one email, Epstein seemed to lead her inquiries about key individuals in the Trump Organization.

Plaskett acknowledged on Tuesday that she did receive messages from Epstein, asserting he was a constituent providing information that was previously unknown and unrelated to any legal advice on the investigation.

Moreover, she highlighted her extensive background as a prosecutor to emphasize that she was not seeking guidance from Epstein. Notably, while the federal investigation into Epstein wasn’t widely known at the time, it’s important to remember that Epstein had already faced initial charges in 2006 related to the exploitation of minors.

The vote on this matter followed a failed Democratic initiative to refer Plaskett’s situation to the House Ethics Committee, which was narrowly rejected at 213-214. Earlier in the proceedings, the House voted overwhelmingly, 427-1, to compel the Department of Justice to release all unclassified documents concerning Epstein.