The House voted Tuesday to advance a resolution to censure Delegate Stacey Plaskett and remove her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence following the release of documents showing she exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.

Plaskett, a non-voting Democrat representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, was revealed to have communicated with Epstein while former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee in 2019. The texts were first reported by outlets including The Washington Post and CNN.

The documents indicate that Plaskett and Epstein exchanged messages during the hearing on Trump’s business practices.

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The release of the material led Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina to introduce a formal censure resolution. “I’ve introduced a resolution to censure Stacey Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee,” Norman said Tuesday. He added, “Her coordination with Jeffrey Epstein during official congressional business is disgraceful, unethical, and an affront to this institution.” Norman described the conduct as “corruption of judgment at the highest level.”

The 2019 text exchange occurred several years after Epstein had been arrested for trafficking crimes.

Epstein, who was later charged federally in 2019, was a registered sex offender at the time he contacted Plaskett.

Plaskett spoke on the House floor before the vote and defended her actions.

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She said Epstein was a constituent of hers at the time and maintained that she was unaware he was under investigation. “I got a text from Jeffrey Epstein, who at the time was my constituent. It was not public knowledge at that time that he was under federal investigation,” Plaskett said.

She also responded sharply to criticism directed at her during the debate.

“You wanna talk about texting felons?! How often do you text Trump?” she said while addressing comments from Republican lawmakers.

The House voted to move the measure forward, setting up additional debate and a final vote on censure and committee removal.

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If adopted, the resolution would remove Plaskett from the Intelligence Committee, which receives classified briefings and oversees agencies including the FBI and CIA.

The release of the Epstein communications prompted renewed scrutiny of Plaskett’s interactions with the convicted offender.

The exchange took place as she questioned Cohen during a high-profile hearing on President Trump’s business practices.

The documents show Epstein commented in real time on the proceedings.

The disclosures have led to calls within the House for increased transparency regarding communications between elected officials and individuals under criminal investigation.

The resolution introduced by Norman cites the need to maintain public trust in congressional oversight functions, particularly for members serving on committees dealing with sensitive national security matters.

Plaskett’s comments on the House floor followed widespread media coverage of the documents and the announcement of the censure effort.

The delegate has served in Congress since 2015 and has been appointed to several committees, including the Intelligence Committee, during her tenure.

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The measure will proceed to further consideration as members weigh whether Plaskett’s 2019 exchange with Epstein constitutes grounds for censure and removal from committee assignments.

House Advances Censure Measure Over Plaskett’s 2019 Texts With Jeffrey Epstein

The House voted Tuesday to advance a resolution to censure Delegate Stacey Plaskett and remove her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence after documents showed she exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing.

Plaskett, a non-voting Democrat who represents the U.S. Virgin Islands, was reported by The Washington Post and CNN to have communicated with Epstein in the middle of Michael Cohen’s 2019 testimony on Trump’s business practices before the House Oversight Committee.

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Epstein was a convicted sex offender at the time of the exchange.

Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina introduced the censure measure on Tuesday.

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“I’ve introduced a resolution to censure Stacey Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee,” Norman said.

“Her coordination with Jeffrey Epstein during official congressional business is disgraceful, unethical, and an affront to this institution.”

He added, “That’s corruption of judgment at the highest level.”

The newly released documents showed that Epstein sent Plaskett multiple messages while she questioned Cohen. These communications took place years after Epstein’s earlier arrest for trafficking crimes.

Plaskett took to the House floor to respond. She argued that she did not know Epstein was under federal investigation when she exchanged messages with him in 2019.

“I got a text from Jeffrey Epstein, who at the time was my constituent. It was not public knowledge at that time that he was under federal investigation,” she said.

Plaskett also responded directly to Republican criticism during the debate.

“You wanna talk about texting felons?! How often do you text Trump?” she said.

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The House vote moved the censure resolution forward for additional debate and consideration.

If ultimately adopted, the measure would remove Plaskett from the Intelligence Committee, which oversees national security matters and receives classified briefings from agencies including the FBI and CIA.

The release of the communications between Plaskett and Epstein prompted renewed scrutiny of her conduct during the 2019 hearing.

Epstein commented in real time on Cohen’s testimony, and the documents showed he and Plaskett exchanged messages during the proceedings.

The calls for censure come as lawmakers continue reviewing records and documents linked to Epstein’s communications with public officials.

The disclosures involving Plaskett prompted questions from members about the conduct of officials serving on committees tasked with sensitive oversight duties.

Plaskett, who has served in Congress since 2015, has held several committee assignments during her tenure, including her current appointment to the Intelligence Committee.

The censure resolution will continue through the House process as members determine whether her 2019 communications with Epstein constitute grounds for formal reprimand and removal from the committee.

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