A recent appearance on CNN saw a Democrat sidestep inquiries regarding her controversial text exchange with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing. The delegate in question, Stacey Plaskett, a non-voting representative from the US Virgin Islands, was found to have communicated with Epstein while former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified against the then-president.
The revelations came to light last week through emails from Epstein’s estate, prompting a swift reaction from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown, who sought answers from Plaskett in light of the scandal. Despite narrowly escaping censure over the incident, Plaskett faced tough questions from the hosts.
Brown directly addressed the fact that Epstein was already a ‘known sex offender’ at the time of their communication. Plaskett, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, defended her actions by stating she had been in contact with many people that day, including Epstein, whom she referred to as a constituent, to gather information.
However, Plaskett firmly denied that Epstein was influencing her statements during the hearing. This denial came despite text exchanges indicating that Epstein had provided her with information regarding one of Trump’s former executive assistants.
Plaskett, 59, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said she had ‘lots of people’ texting her that day and that she had been chatting with Epstein, one of her constituents, to obtain information.
She denied that Epstein had been ‘directing’ her about what to say at the hearing, despite texts showing he alerted her about one of Trump’s former executive assistant.
Brown asked whether Plaskett would have still asked Cohen about the executive assistant if it weren’t for Epstein’s texts.
‘Probably not,’ Plaskett conceded, before being asked by Brown if she had ‘any regrets’ about the correspondence given Epstein’s known sexual abuse.
Stacey Plaskett, the US Virgin Islands non-voting delegate recently caught texting Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing in 2019, faced tough questioning on CNN Wednesday
Plaskett secretly communicated with Epstein during a 2019 Oversight Committee hearing centered around former Donald Trump fixer Michael Cohen
‘Well, listen, I think Jeffrey Epstein is a reprehensible person. Absolutely disgusting. I lived in a house during childhood with a mother who had been sexually abused by her dad. And I know the effect that had on her, as well as us as her family,’ Plaskett replied.
‘And so I understand what the victims are going through, and I want them to get their relevant – their justice, their peace out of this.
‘I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information, and I was gonna get information to get at the truth. Having a friendship with him is not something that I would would deem to have.
‘And so I’m just looking forward – I’m moving forward,’ she maintained, before urging the ‘American people’ to do the same.
‘If individuals are not involved in illegal activity, extending his criminal enterprise or his financial enterprise or all of those things, I think that we need to look at what people are doing moving forward.’
Brown stopped to again emphasize that many of Epstein’s crimes were already public, as he had already pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges in 2008 and was facing accusations from dozens of other women.
‘There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes, and as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can,’ Plaskett responded.
‘I’ve interviewed confidential informants, I’ve interviewed narcotics, drug traffickers and others, and that doesn’t mean that I’m their friend.
CNN’s Pamela Brown (left) repeatedly asked Plaskett if she regretted texting with a known sex offender
Epstein, at the time of the texts, was a resident of the Virgin Islands
‘That doesn’t mean that they are friendly with me. It means that they have information that I need and that I’m trying to get at the truth, and that’s what I do.’
Brown again asked if Plaskett regretted the decision.
‘So no regrets, basically, is what you’re saying?’ the co-host asked.
‘I’m moving forward,’ Plaskett replied.
At the time of the texts, Epstein was a resident of the Virgin Islands.
The Washington Post uncovered that the pair had texted after her name was originally redacted from the emails. Her office confirmed their report.
The delegate avoided censure Tuesday after the House voted 214-209 against formally reprimanding her over the texts.
Months after the Cohen hearing, in August 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
