Newly released documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate have now reportedly raised fresh questions about the conduct of a 2019 congressional hearing, revealing that Epstein exchanged real-time text messages with Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands as she questioned former Trump attorney Michael Cohen.
The messages were made public in November as part of a large batch of emails and internal records released by the House Oversight Committee. While the lawmaker’s name was redacted, The Washington Post reported that the timestamps, context, and alignment with contemporaneous footage of the hearing make clear that the recipient was Plaskett, a member of the panel questioning Cohen that day.
The documents show Epstein following the hearing closely and offering live suggestions. “Hes opened the door to questions re who are the other henchmen at trump org,” he wrote in one exchange, apparently referring to Cohen. Plaskett replied, “Yup. Very aware and waiting my turn.”
Moments later, when Cohen mentioned longtime Trump aide Rhona Graff, Epstein flagged the reference for her: “Cohen brought up RONA – keeper of the secrets.” Plaskett responded, “RONA?? Quick I’m up next is that an acronym. [sic]” Epstein clarified: “Thats his assistant.”
Plaskett then asked Cohen during her questioning whether there were “other people that we should be meeting with” and pressed him to “quickly give us as many names as you can,” specifically invoking Graff. The sequence closely mirrored Epstein’s suggestion that Cohen had “opened the door” to questioning Trump Organization associates.
Beyond strategic guidance, Epstein’s messages veered into the personal. He complimented Plaskett’s clothing, asked if she was chewing something during a televised shot — she replied she was “[c]hewing interior of my mouth. Bad habit from middle school” — and inquired how long she would remain at the hearing.
Following publication of the messages on Friday evening, Plaskett’s office issued a statement acknowledging that she had received texts from “staff, constituents and the public at large,” including Epstein, during the proceedings. The statement underscored her work on cases involving sexual assault and trafficking, adding that “as a former prosecutor she welcomes information that helps her get at the truth.”
The revelations are likely to deepen scrutiny of the conduct of the 2019 hearing, in which Democrats aggressively sought to tie President Trump to alleged wrongdoing within his business empire. The exchange suggests that at least one member of the panel was not just receiving staff notes or constituent reactions — a common practice — but also real-time commentary from Epstein, a convicted sex offender long linked to prominent political and corporate figures.
For conservatives already critical of the partisan tenor of the Cohen hearing, the messages provide new fodder. Epstein’s prompts appear to have aligned with politically charged lines of inquiry aimed squarely at Trump and his associates, raising questions about why a sitting member of Congress was engaging with him at all during such a high-profile proceeding.
The Oversight Committee’s document release, intended to shed light on a range of Epstein’s activities and contacts, has now opened an unexpected window into how a powerful witness — even one as notorious as Epstein — could insert himself into the deliberations of a congressional hearing focused on the president of the United States.
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