ST. CROIX — While Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett has come under scrutiny for text message exchanges with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a February 27, 2019 congressional hearing that led to a recent failed effort to censure her, the connection between the representative from the Virgin Islands and the disgraced financier and child trafficker dates back to 2012 when she first ran for office.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor as part of a plea agreement. He was arrested again in July 2019 on more serious charges of sex trafficking of minors and sex trafficking conspiracy as prosecutors alleged he and his associates abused dozens of underage girls as young as 14 in New York, Florida, and the Virgin Islands. He was found dead on August 10, 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
The following is a timeline detailing Plaskett’s involvement with Epstein:
- 2007-2012: Plaskett serves as general counsel for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, which granted $219.8 million in tax benefits to Epstein’s Financial Trust Company from 1999 to 2012.
- 2008: Epstein pleads guilty in Florida to soliciting prostitution from a minor as part of a plea agreement; he is incarcerated in county jail for 13 months and was allowed extensive work release privileges that kept him out of jail for up to 12 hours a day, six days a week.
2012: Plaskett first runs for Congress after leaving EDA.
— She testifies during her deposition on May 9, 2023 in the case of Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. that she meets Epstein in person for the first time during her 2012 campaign when Attorney Erika Kellerhals introduces her to him as a potential donor.
2013-2014: Plaskett works for Kellerhals Ferguson Kroblin PLLC.
— She states in her deposition that Epstein was a client of the firm at that time.
June 19, 2014: Cecile de Jongh, then first lady of the Virgin Islands and Epstein’s office manager, emails Epstein, asking him to help get Plaskett elected, and if he thought any of his friends would give to her campaign, according to Exhibit 13 from the VI government’s lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank.
— She writes that Plaskett’s opponent in the Democratic primary election, former Senator Shawn-Michael Malone, was “nasty and needs to be defeated,” informing Epstein that, “we would have a friend in Stacey.”
— Epstein tells de Jongh he would have several employees donate maximum amounts to Plaskett’s campaign; they donate $10,400.
- August 2, 2014: Plaskett wins the Democratic primary against Malone by 735 votes.
- August 2, 2016: Plaskett receives two donations totaling $5,400 from Epstein personally, according to her deposition.
- 2018: Epstein donates $2,700 to Plaskett’s campaign.
September 2018: Text messages show Plaskett texting her former chief of staff, Jerome Murray, at 11:11 p.m. saying she is going to meet Epstein when she arrives in New York, according to her deposition.
— She later confirms this was the same meeting at Epstein’s New York home discussed in her deposition.
— She recalls discussing VI politics, national politics, and campaign contributions with Epstein.
- November 28, 2018: Julie K. Brown writes an exposé in the Miami Herald about Epstein’s 2008 conviction and other alleged sex crimes that includes an interview with Virginia Roberts, who said she was used as a sex slave for Epstein for years starting at the age of 16. The article states that Roberts and 20 other victims received settlements from Epstein ranging from $50,000 to more than $1 million. The article includes an interview with Courtney Wild, an alleged victim of Epstein beginning at the age of 14. The article notes that Wild was identified by the FBI as one of more than three dozen underage girls as young as 13 who had been molested by Epstein between 2001 and 2005. The article states that over the years, Wild, Roberts, and more than a dozen other women who say they were victims of Epstein have been quietly challenging the traditional legal norms that have failed to punish Epstein and other men in positions of power for sexual abuse.
- February 27, 2019: Epstein exchanges text messages with Plaskett during the testimony of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney, who appeared before the House Oversight Committee to testify against Trump, accusing him of racism, financial fraud, and directing hush-money payments to conceal his extramarital affairs.
- July 6, 2019: Epstein is arrested on federal sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges.
- July 8, 2019: Plaskett spokesperson Mike McQuerry tells CNBC he’s “pretty sure” she will not return the Epstein donation.
- July 9, 2019: Plaskett announces she will donate an amount equal to Epstein’s contributions to Virgin Islands organizations for women and children.
- August 10, 2019: Epstein is found dead in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial; his death is ruled a suicide.
January 15, 2020: Former Attorney General Denise George files a civil lawsuit against the Epstein estate, co-defendants Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn (co-executors of the estate), and 10 Epstein-created entities under the anti-criminal enterprise, sex trafficking, child exploitation, and fraud laws of the Virgin Islands.
— The VI government alleges the co-defendants conspired with Epstein in carrying out an expansive criminal enterprise through which dozens of young women and children were trafficked, raped, sexually assaulted, and held captive in the Virgin Islands at Epstein’s secluded private island — Little St. James.
— George announces a settlement in the case on December 1, 2020 that required the defendants pay the VI government $105 million in cash plus one half of the proceeds from the sale of Little St. James. The estate also agreed to pay $450,000 to remediate environmental damage around Great St. James, another Epstein-owned island, where the government found that Epstein razed the remains of centuries-old historical structures of enslaved workers to make room for his development.
December 27, 2022: The Virgin Islands government files a federal lawsuit in New York against JPMorgan Chase Bank, alleging the bank enabled Epstein’s trafficking and exploitation network.
— Plaskett is deposed in the case on May 9, 2023, confirming multiple meetings and calls with Epstein between 2012 and 2018. In response to questions about a list she produced of campaign donors from 2014 to 2020, Plaskett confirms that her list indicated Epstein and four of his affiliates donated more than $30,000 during that time. She confirms Epstein donated $8,100 to her campaigns during that period. She confirms campaign contributions during that time from Epstein’s affiliates, including $10,700 from Indyke, $10,700 from Kahn, $2,600 from Lesley Groff (Epstein’s executive assistant), and $2,600 from Bella Klein (Indyke’s administrative assistant).
— The case settles in September 2023; the Virgin Islands receives $75 million from JPMorgan Chase Bank.
- June 7, 2023: Plaskett discusses Epstein donations on “Analyze This with Neville James” on WTJX-FM, stating that she wished she had not taken his campaign contributions. She said she was unaware that her campaign received a donation from Epstein when he first contributed, noting that she was alerted by the media with her campaign’s federal filing.
September 20, 2023: During a video interview with Ernice Gilbert, Virgin Islands Consortium editor-in-chief, founder, and publisher, Plaskett says she knew Epstein had been convicted of “something” in Florida, but “the true extent of that was not evident to us at the time,” so she accepted a donation from Epstein because his business was legitimate.
— Epstein’s 2008 conviction and plea deal is reported at the time by multiple news outlets, including articles published on June 30, 2008 by the New York Post, ABC News, and Reuters, and articles published on July 1, 2008 by The Guardian and the Palm Beach Post.
November 22, 2023: Five women identified as Jane Does who were later joined by a sixth file a federal lawsuit in New York against current and former Virgin Islands government officials, including Plaskett, accusing them of using their political influence to make the Virgin Islands a safe haven for Epstein’s alleged trafficking activities. The plaintiffs accused the government officials of facilitating the alleged abuse and trafficking of New York victims and accepting charitable contributions and political donations from Epstein’s New York bank accounts in exchange for their facilitation in the trafficking of victims.
— In addition to Plaskett, the other defendants were former Governor John de Jongh Jr. and his wife, former Governor Kenneth Mapp, former Attorney General Vincent Frazer, and former Senators Celestino White Sr. and Carlton Dowe, who now serves as executive director of the Virgin Islands Port Authority, as well as 100 anonymous men listed as John Does.
— On March 21, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian dismisses the charges against all the defendants except Plaskett. He also dismisses Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims against Plaskett, as well as charges against her in her official capacity as delegate to Congress. However, he allows remaining claims against Plaskett to proceed in her individual capacity. He finds that Plaskett had sufficient personal ties to New York, unlike the other defendants, because she allegedly traveled there and solicited funds from Epstein.
— On August 21, Plaskett’s lead attorney, Eric Breslin, informs Subramanian in a letter filed with the court that following discussions with opposing counsel, the parties believed the case could be resolved soon.
— On August 28, attorneys for Plaskett and the prosecution file a stipulation of dismissal, agreeing the suit against Plaskett is dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The court subsequently gives notice to Breslin in a docket entry for the case that the stipulation of dismissal filing was deficient because it lacked handwritten signatures and was filed under the incorrect event type. The document is refiled with handwritten signatures but still includes the incorrect event type.
— On September 4, Breslin properly refiles the stipulation of dismissal on his third attempt.
— On September 23, Subramanian orders the stipulation of dismissal, directing the clerk of the court to close the case.
November 14: The Washington Post breaks a story that Epstein texted with Plaskett during the 2019 Cohen hearing after reviewing newly released documents to conclude the timestamps of the texts match Plaskett’s movements during the hearing.
— The Washington Post reviews multiple video feeds from the hearing and matches the texts, which were sent in Pacific Time, with the video.
— At 7:41 a.m., Epstein texts, “Are you chewing?” Less than a minute later, Plaskett replies, “Not any more.”
— At 11:24 a.m., Epstein texts, “Cohen brought up RONA – keeper of the secrets,” referring to former Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff. Thirty five seconds later at 11:25 a.m., Plaskett texts, “RONA??” Forty one seconds later, Plaskett texts, “Quick I’m up next is that an acronym?”
— At 11:26 a.m., Epstein replies, “That’s his assistant.”
— Plaskett questions Cohen about Graff, asking if she and Allen Weisselberg were with the Trump Organization. Cohen responds that they were with the Trump Organization, noting Weisselberg was the chief financial officer and Graff was Trump’s executive assistant. Plaskett asks Cohen if Graff would be able to corroborate many of the statements he made during the hearing. He says yes, noting her office was directly next to Trump’s, and that she was involved in a lot that went on.
— After Plaskett questions Cohen about Graff, at 11:34 a.m. Epstein texts her, “Good work.”
- November 17: The White House publishes an article titled, “Where Is Democrats’ Transparency on Epstein?” The article questions why Democrats are not talking about the fact Plaskett “solicited (and was given) $30,000 from Epstein” for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee after he was already a convicted sex offender, or the fact that Plaskett herself accepted maxed out donations from Epstein for her own campaign, or the fact that the wife of the former Democratic governor of the Virgin Islands told Epstein, “we would have a friend in Stacey” if he made said donations, or the fact that Plaskett was literally texting Epstein during a committee hearing.
November 18: Republicans introduce House Resolution 888 to censure and condemn Plaskett and remove her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for conduct that reflects discreditably on the House representatives for colluding with Epstein during the Cohen hearing.
— The resolution fails, 214-209.
November 18: Representative James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, requests Attorney General Gordon Rhea provide documents relating to the Epstein estate, the VI government’s suit against the Epstein estate, and the VI government’s suit against JPMorgan Chase Bank to further the committee’s review of the federal government’s investigation of Epstein.
— In a letter to Rhea, Comer indicates his committee is reviewing the possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell (Epstein’s friend who was accused of recruiting and grooming underage girls to be sexually abused by him), the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Epstein’s death, the operation of sex-trafficking rings and potential legislative solutions for the federal government to effectively combat them, and potential violations of ethics rules related to elected officials.
— The letter notes that Epstein, who maintained ties to high-level VI government officials, remained in communication with Plaskett and Mapp. Documents published by the committee’s majority staff on November 12 show Epstein emailed Mapp’s official account in November 2016, and that Epstein engaged in a text conversation with Plaskett during a congressional hearing in February 2019.
- November 18: Plaskett releases a statement after the resolution fails: “Jeffrey Epstein’s actions represent one of the most grotesque abuses of wealth, power, and privilege in modern memory. His conduct — proven through criminal charges, survivor testimony, and extensive investigations — was not merely immoral; it was predatory, exploitative, and this is the type of behavior that as an attorney, I have worked to fight against and I will continue to fight for the people of the Virgin Islands in my capacity as their representative.”
- November 19: Plaskett appears on CNN’s “The Situation Room” to discuss her 2019 correspondence with Epstein during the Cohen hearing. She avoided answering the question of whether she regrets texting Epstein, stating that she is “moving forward.”
November 19: An ABC News article further outlines the transcript of the 2019 text exchange between Plaskett and Epstein, indicating that Plaskett was the first to reach out to Epstein. While The Washington Post matched the texts sent in Pacific Time with the video, ABC News outlined the text exchange in Eastern Time.
— Plaskett texts Epstein at 7:55 a.m., saying, “He’ll talk about his grades.”
— As the committee convenes just after 10 a.m., Epstein texts Plaskett, “great outfit.” He texts her, “you look great,” 20 minutes later. She replies, “Thanks!”
— At 10:41 a.m., Epstein asks, “Are you chewing?” Plaskett responds less than a minute later, “Not any more,” adding, “Chewing interior of my mouth. Bad habit from middle school.”
— Epstein sends his insights about the Trump Organization and its key players as lawmakers questioned Cohen, texting at 12:26 p.m., “Hes opened the door to questions re who are the other henchmen at trump org.” Plaskett replies, “Yup. Very aware and waiting my turn.”
— Epstein texts at 2:24 p.m., “Cohen brought up RONA – keeper of the secrets,” referring to former Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff. Plaskett replies, “RONA??” Less than a minute later, she texts, “quick I’m up next is that an acronym.”
— “Thats his assistant,” Epstein replies, “Rona.” A minute later, Epstein texts, “‘She called out rodger is on line 1’ corroborator.”
— Plaskett asks about Graff while questioning Cohen a short time later. At 2:34 p.m., Epstein texts, “Good work.”
The WTJX NewsFeed reached out to Plaskett’s office for an interview with the delegate to Congress, but a date has not yet been established by her office.
