The House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led effort to strip Democratic U.S. Virgin Islands delegate Stacey Plaskett of her prime spot on the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday evening, after a splinter group of Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the measure.
Lawmakers voted 209 to 214 against formally censuring Plaskett, a nonvoting delegate, after recently revealed text messages showed she consulted the late convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing. Three Republicans — Reps. Lance Gooden of Texas, Don Bacon of Nebraska and Dave Joyce of Ohio — joined Democrats to tank the resolution reprimanding Plaskett.
Three additional GOP lawmakers voted present: Reps. Jay Obernolte of California, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania and Andrew Garbarino of New York. Four Republicans did not vote.
The censure resolution, offered by Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, was drafted in response to recently unearthed texts between Plaskett and Epstein and released as part of a House Oversight Committee document dump last week. The messages appeared to show Plaskett consulting Epstein for advice about what to ask former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was testifying during the February 2019 hearing.
Several conservative GOP lawmakers raged at their Republican colleagues for helping defeat the resolution.
“I am totally disgusted with this bunch of losers,” Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett wrote on X.
A handful of Republicans helped defeat resolutions to censure Democratic Reps. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey and Illhan Omar of Minnesota earlier this year.
Plaskett attempted to defend herself by characterizing Epstein, whose primary residence was the U.S. Virgin Islands, as a normal interaction with a “constituent.” Epstein was notably a convicted sex offender by 2008 but only spent 13 months in a county jail due to a controversial plea deal.
“Let me tell you something. I don’t need to get advice on how to question anybody from any individual. I have been a lawyer for 30 years,” Plaskett said on the House floor Tuesday. “I have sought information from confidential informants, from murderers, from other individuals, because I want the truth, not because I need them to tell me what to say.”
Plaskett previously worked for the Department of Justice before starting a career in Congress in January 2015.
In sporadic texts during the hearing, Epstein mentioned former Trump executive assistant, Rhona Graff, stating “Cohen brought up RONA [sic] – keeper of the secrets.”
“RONA??” Plaskett responded. “Quick I’m up next is that an acronym,” she asked.
Epstein then clarified, “Thats [sic] his assistant.”
The late convicted sex predator subsequently told Plaskett “Good work” after she concluded her questioning of Cohen.
Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, and other members of the conservative group argued that Plaskett’s decision to collaborate with Epstein demands a formal rebuke by the lower chamber.
“Using the input of a sex offender to shape questions in an official hearing is UNACCEPTABLE and cannot go unaddressed,” Norman wrote on X.
“Delegate Plaskett’s relationship with Epstein stands in stark contrast to the public image she has curated for herself as a defender of justice and accountability while secretly collaborating with an individual whose crimes against vulnerable women and children shocked the nation,” the resolution reads in part.
Norman, a prominent fiscal hawk, is running in a crowded primary for South Carolina governor during next year’s midterm elections.
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