In a recent clash involving members of Congress, Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas and a member of the progressive group known as “The Squad,” mistakenly accused the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, of receiving contributions from Jeffrey Epstein. However, she confused him with another individual entirely—a doctor from New York with the same name, not the infamous financier involved in criminal activities who died in prison.
Crockett’s claims emerged during a heated debate over a resolution to censure Stacey Plaskett, the delegate from the Virgin Islands, due to her past associations with Epstein. In this context, Crockett alleged that Zeldin had financial ties to Epstein, but the records tell a different story.
Recent filings from the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) confirm that Zeldin did receive a donation from someone named Jeffrey Epstein. However, the donor is a physician, not the disgraced billionaire that Crockett implied.
Addressing the confusion, Zeldin took to social media platform X, stating, “Yes, Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine,” he clarified.
Adding a touch of frustration, he continued, “NO FREAKIN RELATION, YOU GENIUS!” emphasizing the mix-up.
FEC records further corroborate Zeldin’s explanation, clearly separating him from any association with the notorious Epstein.
As – News reported this week, newly released documents revealed that Epstein sent text messages to Plaskett complimenting her for her questioning of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen:
Thousands of pages of emails, texts, and other documents from Epstein’s estate were released last Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee, uncovering shocking communication between the convicted predator and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D) of the U.S. Virgin Islands as she prepared to question Michael Cohen, Trump’s ex-lawyer-turned-critic.
Epstein appeared to be watching the congressional hearing in real time, texting Plaskett that she looked “great” and informing her that Cohen referred to Trump’s former assistant, Rhona Graff, while he testified against his former boss.
Given Plaskett’s friendly replies, the texts revealed that the two had a cordial friendship despite him being a convicted sex offender. On Tuesday, the House Freedom Caucus led a vote to strip Plaskett of her role on the House Democratic Caucus. All Democrats voted against the censure, with three Republicans voting no and another three voting present. It failed with a 209-214 vote.
The censure also sought to remove Plaskett from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the FBI and CIA and “regularly receives classified briefings on matters of national security,” per Fox News.
“The House of Representatives has a responsibility and a duty to protect the integrity of this institution. And what we learn from the documents released by Jeffrey Epstein’s estate is nothing short of alarming,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), who introduced the censure.
“Those documents show that Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a sitting member of Congress, coordinated her questioning during an official Oversight hearing, with a man who was a convicted sex offender, a man whose crimes against minors shocked this entire nation,” he added.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) countered that the censure was “one more pathetic effort to distract and divert attention from the fact that the president’s name appeared more than a thousand times already in the small fraction of material released on Epstein,” adding that Epstein was a “constituent” of Plaskett due to his primary residence in the Virgin Islands.
“Without even going to the Ethics Committee, much less a court, they want to arraign her on some charges based on a newspaper article, that she did something lawful — however ill-advised — it may have been. She took a phone call from one of her constituents,” Raskin said.
“Where is the ethical transgression? Where is the legal transgression? Are you saying anybody on your side of the aisle who had a phone call with Jeffrey Epstein should be censured?” he added.
