Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) lashed out at critics, claiming the only reason Democrat Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett faced a censure vote over her real-time text messages with Jeffrey Epstein was because she is a “black woman.”
The comments came one day after Plaskett narrowly escaped censure in a 214–209 vote, with several Republicans, led by Rep. Corey Mills (R-FL), bucking their party.
During a Thursday livestream on social media, Crockett dismissed concerns over Plaskett’s communications with the convicted child sex offender.
She also downplayed Plaskett’s messages exchanged during the anti-Trump 2019 Michael Cohen hearing.
Instead, Crockett accused Republicans of selective outrage.
Crockett Claims Plaskett Was Targeted for Her Race
“MAGA has decided that they are most upset about the fact that Epstein was sending text messages to his member of Congress,” Crockett said, arguing that Plaskett’s critics ignored Epstein’s far more numerous mentions of President Donald Trump.
Crockett insisted Plaskett did nothing wrong, framing the texts as harmless.
“We don’t have ethical like rules that say that you can’t receive text messages or you can’t respond to text messages,” she said.
“Our staff text us, everybody texts us… there is no ethical violation.”
She argued that Republicans attempting to remove Plaskett from the House Intelligence Committee were motivated by prejudice rather than legitimate concern.
“The audacity to decide that you want to strip a black woman of her committee assignment because she was texting with Epstein… but you don’t even want to dig into… what the president of the United States was up to?
“That’s where we are? Okay.”
WATCH:
Reality Check: Trump Ordered Full Release of Epstein Files
Crockett’s argument sidesteps the fact that President Trump himself pushed for the full release of the Epstein files after years of Democrat resistance.
Trump told Republicans on Sunday to back the bill.
The House passed it 427–1.
The Senate passed it by unanimous consent.
Trump signed it on Wednesday night, ordering the DOJ to publish the files within 30 days.
Democrats, including Plaskett, only began vocally supporting the release of the files after Trump pushed back against the calls.
As soon as Trump rejected the push, Democrats pounced and demanded the Epstein files be released, assuming the president had something to hide.
This followed years of resistance from the Biden-era DOJ, which refused to unseal key documents earlier this year.
In addition, congressional Democrats spent years blocking Republican efforts to release the files.
Victims: Trump Was Never Involved
Crockett also insinuated Republicans were ignoring Trump’s alleged ties to Epstein.
However, victims and attorneys have repeatedly said the opposite.
Virginia Giuffre, Epstein’s most famous accuser, did not accuse Trump of misconduct in her posthumous memoir.
Her ghostwriter told People she was a “huge fan” of Trump.
Other Epstein victims told NBC’s Hallie Jackson they had no knowledge of wrongdoing by Trump.
Attorney Bradley Edwards, who represented multiple Epstein victims, has said Trump was uniquely cooperative, recounting:
“He is the only person… who picked up the phone and said, ‘Let’s just talk… I’ll tell ya what you need to know.’”
Edwards added that Trump showed “no indication whatsoever” of involvement in anything improper.
Plaskett’s Censure Fails, But the Scrutiny Won’t
Plaskett survived censure, but the fallout is not going away.
Her texts included:
• Real-time coaching from Epstein during the Cohen hearing.
• Epstein praised Plaskett’s “Good work” after she used a line he fed her.
• A cozy familiarity, raising questions about judgment and security clearance standards.
The House Freedom Caucus has also pushed to strip her Intelligence Committee role, something Crockett calls racist but others view as common sense.
Plaskett sits on one of the most sensitive committees in Congress, with access to classified intelligence.
Texting a registered sex offender, who ran a multinational trafficking operation and had deep intelligence ties, raises obvious red flags.
Crockett’s defense attempts to racialize a scandal that has nothing to do with race and everything to do with:
- Judgment
- Security vetting
- Transparency
- And public trust
As the Epstein files begin rolling out under Trump’s order, scrutiny is only going to intensify, especially for lawmakers whose names appear in correspondence with one of history’s most notorious predators.
READ MORE – Clintons Ordered to Testify in Person Before Congress for Epstein Probe
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