U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett has had some of her deepest, darkest secrets revealed, as it has been uncovered that she not only texted Epstein during a hearing, as was revealed months ago, but privately referred to infamous pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein as a “friend,” and shared with him exclusive details about her legislative work that weren’t even known by the very public she was supposed to represent.
For reference, Del. Plaskett’s close ties to Epstein have been further revealed by the release of, amongst the millions of Epstein documents released, a batch of text messages between her and the notorious financier and pedo, and the texts undermine her claims about the relationship she had with the now deceased billionaire.
In a message dated September 24, 2018, Plaskett thanked Epstein, who was a longtime campaign donor and resident of the Virgin Islands that the congresswoman represents, for lending her his “support,” going on to ask him if it would be “presumptuous” of her to “consider you a friend.” Epstein responded to the message, saying, “Privileged to be called friend.”
The billionaire was arrested 10 months later on federal charges of trafficking dozens of women and underage girls for sex. He allegedly died by suicide in his jail cell on August 10, 2019. Several other text messages revealed that Plaskett sent Epstein inside information ahead of public announcements. In one exchange from February 27, 2018, Plaskett informed Epstein that the Internal Revenue Service had decided to extend a critical tax break for residents of the Virgin Islands following hurricanes.
According to media reports, Plaskett said, “You’re the first person I told. Don’t say anything yet.” Epstein replied, “Great work.” Reports went on to state that Epstein ultimately saved over $300 million in taxes by using shell companies located in the territory. “Now let’s see if we can create some controls for the money we get for rebuilding,” Plaskett continued.
The text messages are part of a collection of nearly three million Epstein-related documents released by the Department of Justice. Contrary to Plaskett’s earlier claims about her ties to the billionaire sex trafficker, the messages reveal a much closer relationship, even as the congresswoman mulls over a potential bid for the governorship of the territory. Plaskett is also a nonvoting member of the House Intelligence Committee.
A group of text messages related to Epstein were released the previous fall, which led to attempts by Plaskett to try and distance herself from the disgraced billionaire. In an interview with CNN she said, “I’ve been a prosecutor for many years, and there are a lot of people who have information that are not your friends that you use to get information from to get at the truth.”
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“I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information, and I was going to get information,” she continued. “The truth is, having a friendship with him is not something that I would deign to have.” However the newly released messages clearly show Plaskett referring to him as a “friend” mere hours after paying him a visit at his townhouse located in Manhattan. During that meeting she asked Epstein to donate to her campaign, along with $30,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Plaskett also provided Epstein with updates concerning meetings with former President Bill Clinton, Eric Holder, and former Vice President Mike Pence, along with communications with federal agencies. There was also personal banter between the two of them included in the messages. Epstein sent a message in May 2019 wishing Plaskett a happy birthday.
“Thanks! How’d you know?” Plaskett responded. “You told me when you were in my office,” Epstein stated. “You’re good!!” Plaskett replied. “No I’m bad, but I’m thoughtful,” Epstein wisecracked. Following his arrest, Plaskett stated that she wasn’t aware of the charges against him until they were formally announced. Prior records paint a very different picture.
In 2016, her political opponent, Gordon Ackley, slammed her for accepting donations from Epstein, saying it was “disgusting that our congresswoman took thousands of dollars from a convicted pedophile.” Epstein’s financial support played an important role in Plaskett’s early political career. She squeaked out a victory in her first race in 2014, winning by only 737 votes after Epstein and some of his close associates donated a lot of cash, being urged to do so by Cecile de Jongh, one of his office managers and the wife of the governor at the time.
De Jongh wrote in a June 2014 email to Epstein that should Plaskett get elected, “We would have a friend in Stacey.” Epstein then agreed to donate to the campaign and got many of his employees to do the same. Campaign records show Epstein and his network kept on giving to Plaskett in 2016 and 2018, which included a check for $2,700 that was dated July 16, 2018.