House Republicans failed to remove Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.) from the House Intelligence Committee over newly released files from Jeffrey Epstein's estate revealing she texted with the disgraced financier during a congressional hearing.
Why it matters: Three Republicans voted against their party's measure and another three voted "present" after Democrats threatened a retaliatory vote on removing Rep. Cory Mills from the Armed Services Committee.
- Democrats initially tried and failed to effectively quash the measure by referring it to the House Ethics Committee, but their motion failed in a 213-214 vote.
- But in a final vote Tuesday night, the censure resolution went down 209- 214.
- Democrats moved to withdraw their Mills censure vote after the Plaskett measure went down, two aides familiar with the matter told Axios.
Driving the news: Copies of Plaskett's texts with Epstein released by the Epstein estate reveal that the two communicated during a House Oversight Committee hearing with Trump associate Michael Cohen in 2019, according to the Washington Post.
- In the texts, Epstein floated potential questions for Plaskett to ask Cohen, including an inquiry — which Plaskett subsequently posed — about other Trump associates the committee could interview.
- Plaskett's office told the Post that she "received texts from staff, constituents and the public at large offering advice, support and in some cases partisan vitriol, including from Epstein."
- "The congresswoman has previously made clear her long record combating sexual assault and human trafficking, her disgust over Epstein's deviant behavior and her support for his victims," the statement added.
State of play: Rep. Ralph Norman's (R-S.C.) four-page resolution would have censured Plaskett for "inappropriate coordination with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein," which it says "reflects discreditably on the House of Representatives."
- It also would have also directed the Ethics Committee to launch a probe into "the extent of Plaskett's ties to Epstein and any potential further improprieties."
- It only would have removed her from the House Intelligence Committee — whose members receive more access to classified information than the average lawmaker — not from the Ways and Means or Budget committees.
Between the lines: The texts occurred before Epstein's arrest on federal sex trafficking charges that July, but after his 2008 guilty plea on charges of soliciting prostitution and a Miami Herald story into allegations of serial sex abuse against him.
- Epstein's primary residence was on Little Saint James, which is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Plaskett was reportedly one of several politicians in the territory to whom Epstein donated significant sums.
- Epstein's donations to Plaskett were a source of considerable public controversy following his arrest in 2019.
The other side: House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Plaskett's onetime law professor, spoke against the measure in a speech on the House floor, arguing she "took a phone call from one of her constituents."
- "I don't think it is the position of [Norman] that if we find Jeffrey Epstein on the phone with Donald Trump, that he should be impeached for it," Raskin continued. "That sounds like guilt by association."
- Plaskett said in a floor speech: "I don't need to get advice on how to question anybody from any individual. I have been a lawyer for 30 years."
Between the lines: The House Oversight Committee also sent a letter to the U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon Rhea requesting information on Epstein, just hours after the House vote.
- The letter also directly referenced Plaskett's ties to Epstein.
Axios' Kate Santaliz contributed reporting.
