House Republicans Move to Censure Plaskett Over Epstein Text Messages During Cohen Hearing

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris announced Tuesday that Republicans will introduce a censure resolution against Del. Stacey Plaskett following revelations that she exchanged text messages with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing. The facts are straightforward, and they are damning.

Newly released documents reveal that Plaskett, the Virgin Islands’ nonvoting delegate to the House, was actively communicating with Epstein while questioning Michael Cohen during a February 2019 hearing. Cohen, a former associate of President Donald Trump, was testifying about alleged hush money payments. What makes this particularly egregious is that Epstein was not merely a passive observer. The texts show he was actively guiding Plaskett’s line of questioning.

“I think she needs to be censured by the House and removed from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for colluding with a convicted felon during a congressional hearing,” Harris told reporters. “That does not reflect well on the House of Representatives.”

He is correct. This is not a minor breach of protocol. This represents a sitting member of Congress coordinating with a convicted pedophile during official congressional proceedings. The optics alone should be disqualifying, but the substance is far worse.

One text from Epstein read, “Hes opened the door to questions re who are the other henchmen at trump org.” This was not casual conversation. This was strategic coordination between a delegate and a sexual predator to shape congressional testimony against a sitting president.

The resolution could be introduced as soon as this week, with Harris indicating it may be filed as a privileged resolution. If designated as privileged, House GOP leadership would be required to bring it to the floor within two legislative days, forcing a vote that Democrats would prefer to avoid.

The Democratic response has been predictably inadequate. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries dodged questions about Plaskett following his Monday news conference, claiming he had not spoken with her and referring reporters to her statement. This is the same Democratic caucus that has spent years demanding transparency regarding any potential connections between Trump and Epstein. Apparently, that standard evaporates when applied to their own members.

The hypocrisy is staggering. Democrats have weaponized the Epstein case for political purposes, using it as a cudgel against Republicans while remaining conspicuously silent when one of their own is caught red-handed coordinating with the man himself. Representatives Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, and Marjorie Taylor Greene have been pushing for the release of additional Epstein files, warning of a coming “reckoning.” That reckoning should begin with accountability for those who actively collaborated with Epstein while he was alive.

Plaskett sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a position requiring the highest standards of judgment and integrity. Coordinating with a convicted sex offender during congressional proceedings demonstrates a catastrophic failure of both. Her removal from that committee should be the minimum consequence.

The broader question remains: what other communications exist between Plaskett and Epstein? What other members of Congress were in contact with him? These are questions Democrats suddenly seem uninterested in answering, despite their previous enthusiasm for Epstein-related investigations when they could be directed at political opponents.

The facts demand action. A censure resolution is appropriate, and removal from the Intelligence Committee is necessary. Anything less would be a dereliction of congressional duty and a continuation of the double standard that has plagued this issue from the beginning.

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