(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Recently filed court records show that deceased millionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein apparently considered Weaponization Subcommittee ranking member delegate Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, to be a “friend.”
The court records come from an ongoing lawsuit the U.S. Virgin Islands’ government has against JP Morgan Chase bank for allegedly helping the deceased pedophile finance his human trafficking network.
Journalist Lee Fang, who reported on the records that reference Plaskett, said they undermine her previous assertion that she was unaware of the Epstein donations.
“When she was asked by the Virgin Islands affiliate of NPR whether she was aware of Epstein’s donations, she said no she didn’t know about them. But these documents tell a different story,” Fang said in a recent interview with journalist Glenn Greenwald.
STUNNING: "Congresswoman" @StaceyPlaskett has lied to the public about her deep ties w/ Jeffrey Epstein:
She received his support from the start of her political career, solicited further donations in-person, & spent years working for his personal lobbyist.@LHFang reports👇 pic.twitter.com/6G0jePZTFS
— System Update (@SystemUpdate_) July 28, 2023
One of the records filed last month includes a 2014 email from then-Epstein aid Cecil de Jongh, who advised him to support Plaskett’s bid for Congress against local legislator Shawn-Michael Malone.
“Shawn is the one who came after you in the senate hearing last week. He is nasty and needs to be defeated and we have a friend in Stacey,” wrote de Jongh.
Another email from de Jongh in 2014 states that Epstein indeed pledged $13,000 to Plaskett, who wound up winning that year’s election in what local media deemed a shocking upset.
Yet another email from 2018 shows that Plaskett requested money from Epstein for her reelection campaign.
“If you would share this invitation with Jeffrey I’d be much appreciative,” wrote Plaskett on July 12, 2018, in an email to Epstein attorney Erika Kellerhals and personal assistant Lesley Groff—the latter who has been accused of helping Epstein recruit underage girls.
Epstein would also financially supporting Plaskett in that 2018 reelection campaign, before dying about a year later—as Headline USA has previously reported.
When news about Epstein’s donations to Plaskett first broke about four years ago, her press secrety initially said she was going to keep the dirty money.
“I’m pretty sure she’s not,” Plaskett spokeman Mike McQueery said on July 8, 2019, when questioned by CNBC about whether the money would be returned.
A day later, Plaskett reportedly reversed course and decided to send the Epstein donations to non-profit organizations.
“In light of new information and allegations that have been made against Jeffrey Epstein I have decided to make contributions to Virgin Islands organizations that work with women and children in the amount of his previous contributions,” Plaskett said in a statement to CNBC.
Headline USA has asked Plaskett’s office about whether her ties to Epstein prevented her from effectively serving on a committee designed to investigate the FBI—given that the FBI covered up Epstein’s crimes for decades—but has not received an answer to that question.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
