Stacey Plaskett during the Michael Cohen hearing in which she exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein. Image credit: CSPAN
On November 18, 2025, the United States House voted to fail the motion to censure and condemn Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D) for colluding with convicted felony sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But Plaskett is still taking heat for possibly colluding with the sex criminal.
Plaskett represents the congressional district of the United States Virgin Islands. She is a member of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Ways and Mean, and the Committee on Budget.
Epstein, who owned the islands of Little St. James and Great St. James in the US Virgin Islands, was one of Plaskett’s constituents.
Plaskett accepted campaign contributions linked to Epstein, but returned them in response to public pressure. “When the details over his crimes were exposed in November of 2018, I gave the money to women’s organizations in the Virgin Islands,” Plaskett said.
On February 27, 2019, while Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen was testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Plaskett exchanged text messages with Epstein. Epstein’s texts appeared to influence what the congresswoman asked Cohen. Shortly after Plaskett finished her questioning, Epstein texted her “Good work.”
On November 18, 2025, Representative Ralph Norman (R) of South Carolina introduced a resolution to censure Plaskett over her ties to Epstein. “Delegate Plaskett’s willingness to receive instructions on official congressional proceedings from Epstein, a convicted felony sex offender with deeply concerning international associations, is especially alarming and inappropriate given her own past service in the US Department of Justice and her current role on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and raises serious questions about Delegate Plaskett’s judgement, integrity, and fitness to serve,” read the resolution.
However, the motion failed, 213-214. Plaskett also kept her seat on the House Committee on Intelligence.
Plaskett called the measure an attempt at intimidation, saying, “They’ve taken a text exchange which shows no participation, no assistance, no involvement in any illegal activity and weaponized it for political theater because that is what this is.”
Plaskett defended herself against allegations of working with Epstein. She took a strong stance against Epstein and declared that she was not influenced by him during her time in Congress.
“You don’t know the work that I’ve done… Do you think I would risk my law degree for any individual, never mind a reprehensible individual by the name of Jeffrey Epstein? I would not.”
Stacey Plaskett is only one of many individuals who have defended herself against charges of association with Epstein. However, she is the highest-profile person from the US Virgin Islands.
Epstein’s properties in the US Virgin Islands were the sites of much of his abuse and sex trafficking, especially the Little St. James property. In 2023, 4 years after Epstein’s death, financier Stephen Deckoff purchased the properties for $60 million. He plans to transform them into resorts.
Under the terms of a US Virgin Islands Department of Justice settlement, the US Virgin Islands’ government is due to receive half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James. The government plans to use the money “to establish a trust to fund support services and counseling for victims of sexual abuse and human trafficking.”
Plaskett has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
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