Plaskett Faces New Epstein Text Scrutiny
New reporting shows timestamped text messages from Jeffrey Epstein’s files appear to mirror exchanges during a 2019 House hearing where Delegate Stacey Plaskett questioned Michael Cohen. Plaskett returned Epstein donations months after his arrest and her office says she received messages from many sources but did not confirm whether she was texting Epstein during the hearing.
Newly released files and a Washington Post analysis have put U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett under renewed scrutiny after text messages from Jeffrey Epstein’s cache appear to mirror exchanges she made during a July 2019 House hearing. The Post juxtaposed footage from that hearing — during testimony by Michael Cohen, former President Donald J.
Trump’s personal lawyer — with timestamped texts from documents released by the House Oversight Committee. Although the name of Epstein’s correspondent was redacted in the released records, the timing and content of the messages align closely with questions Plaskett posed on the House floor.
In the exchanges, Epstein asks whether the person on the other end is chewing gum; the member of Congress then stops chewing. Epstein references "RONA — keeper of the secrets," and in the hearing Plaskett asks Cohen, "What is Ms. Rona's position?" Shortly after she posed that question, Epstein texted, "Good work," according to the reporting.
Months after Epstein’s July 2019 arrest on federal sex-trafficking charges, and after initial resistance, Plaskett returned campaign contributions from Epstein amid public backlash. In 2023 she told the Consortium: "I regret accepting that campaign contribution, but at the time I was unaware that my campaign had received it." That comment came soon after a settlement between the Virgin Islands and the Epstein estate.
Consortium journalists sought comment about the apparent contemporaneous texts. Plaskett’s chief of staff, Angeline Muckle-Jabbar, did not confirm whether the congresswoman was texting with Epstein during the hearing. Her office said Plaskett received texts from staff, constituents and members of the public — including Epstein — and that as a former prosecutor she welcomes information that helps get at the truth.
The statement reiterated Plaskett’s record combating sexual assault and human trafficking and her support for victims. Jeffrey Epstein’s legal history is well known: federal sex-trafficking charges were filed in 2019, he pleaded not guilty but died by suicide in August 2019 before trial.
Earlier, in 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state solicitation offences in Florida under a controversial deal. For residents of the British Virgin Islands, the revelations are significant because they involve a neighboring territory’s delegate and touch on broader regional concerns about accountability, victims’ justice and the reputational impacts that high-profile cases can have across the Caribbean.
The House Oversight Committee’s release of the files and media scrutiny mean questions about the extent of Epstein’s communications with public officials may continue to draw local and regional attention as reporters and investigators follow up.
Primary source: VINO