Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) introduced a House Freedom Caucus-backed censure resolution against Democratic Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett on Tuesday after her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was revealed.
Norman’s resolution said that Epstein “actively coached” Plaskett during a House Oversight Committee meeting in 2019. It aims to censure and remove her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Epstein’s texts with Plaskett during the Oversight Committee’s questioning of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen were revealed as part of a trove of new information released by Epstein’s estate to the committee.
Among the files was a conversation between Plaskett and Epstein that took place during the hearing. Epstein advised Plaskett on whom to ask Cohen about and what she looked like on television. Afterwards, he told her that she did “good work.”
Before the scheduled censure vote, Plaskett defended herself. She said Epstein was a constituent and was “sharing information” with her. She vehemently denied seeking “advice” from Epstein, saying that her résumé suggests she knows how to question individuals herself.
Plaskett later added that “Jeffrey Epstein’s actions were absolutely reprehensible as a constituent,” and his federal investigation was not public knowledge at the time. It was public knowledge that Epstein was a convicted sex offender at the time.
She said she will continue to “do the work” and support the Constitution even if she is censored.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called the resolution a “political stunt by a desperate, failed candidate for governor trying to pander to the people back in South Carolina.”
The vote did not take place on Tuesday, and has been postponed to sometime later this week.
In the resolution, which HFC chairman Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said earlier Tuesday would be introduced, the caucus accuses Plaskett of having “extensive political, personal and professional connections with Epstein after his conviction as a sex offender.”
“Delegate Plaskett’s relationship with Epstein stands in stark contrast to the public image that she has curated for herself as a defender of justice and accountability,” they wrote, adding that her relationship was “alarming and inappropriate” given her position in the House.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT ALLEGEDLY TEXTED WITH EPSTEIN DURING COHEN HEARING IN 2019
Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) slammed the censure attempt as “yet another partisan resolution” and ordered it to be referred to the House Ethics Committee.
The House denied an initial vote to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee with 214 yeas and 213 nays, and six not voting. Most Democrats voted to refer Plaskett, with two Republicans defecting, while the rest of the GOP House members voted against the motion.
