U.S. Virgin Islands delegate Stacey Plaskett (D.) called Jeffrey Epstein her "friend" in newly released text messages and provided the sex offender with exclusive non-public details about her legislative work, directly contradicting Plaskett's claims about her relationship with Epstein.
In a Sept. 24, 2018, text message, Plaskett thanked Epstein, a longtime campaign donor and Virgin Islands resident, for his "support" and asked if it would be "presumptuous" of her to "consider you a friend."
"Privileged to be called friend," replied Epstein, who was arrested 10 months later on charges of trafficking dozens of women and girls for sex. He killed himself in jail on Aug. 10, 2019.
In an exchange on Feb. 27, 2018, Plaskett informed Epstein that the IRS had extended a tax break for residents of the Virgin Islands after hurricanes hit the territory.
"You're the first person I told," Plaskett confided to Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for sex. "Don't say anything yet," she added, telling Epstein she was going to issue a press release announcing the IRS decision.
"Great work," said Epstein, who reportedly saved more than $300 million in taxes through various shell companies in the Virgin Islands, a popular tax haven for the rich and powerful.
"Now let's see if we can create some controls for the money we get for rebuilding," said Plaskett.
Those exchanges, which are among the three million Epstein documents the Department of Justice released Friday, show Plaskett had a far warmer relationship with Epstein than she has publicly admitted. And they are likely to raise questions for Plaskett as she eyes a run for Virgin Islands governor. Plaskett, a non-voting delegate who serves on the powerful House Intelligence Committee, sought to distance herself from Epstein in November after the release of text messages that showed Plaskett corresponding with Epstein during a House committee hearing with former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Plaskett used some of Epstein's ideas in her line of questioning to Cohen.
After House Republicans introduced a censure resolution against Plaskett, she took to the House floor and CNN to distance herself from Epstein.
"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," she told CNN in November.
"I believe that Jeffrey Epstein had information, and I was going to get information," she said. "The truth is, having a friendship with him is not something that I would deign to have."
Plaskett's "friend" message to Epstein came hours after she visited Epstein at his New York City townhouse. During that visit, Plaskett asked Epstein—a longtime political donor—to contribute again to her congressional campaign, and $30,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The new documents also show that Plaskett visited Epstein at his private island, Little St. James, in August 2014 and again on May 18, 2019, just two months before Epstein was arrested. Plaskett was accompanied on both trips by Erika Kellerhals, a Plaskett campaign donor and longtime real estate attorney for Epstein. Plaskett worked for Kellerhals's firm before joining Congress.
Other texts show Plaskett told Epstein about her meetings with political figures like Bill Clinton, Eric Holder, and Mike Pence, as well as her interactions with various federal agencies regarding issues in the Virgin Islands. Her February 2018 message to Epstein pertained to the IRS's handling of residency status for Virgin Islands residents affected by Hurricanes Helen and Irma.
Plaskett informed Epstein before anyone else that she successfully pressured the IRS to extend residency status, a major win for part-time residents who claim Virgin Islands residency to take advantage of its favorable tax rates.
"Don't say anything yet. I'm preparing a press release now," said Plaskett, who released a press release about the issue hours later.
"You're the first person I’ve told."
And there are other chummy exchanges in the Epstein batch, including one in which Epstein coyly referred to his reputation.
"Happy birthday," Epstein wrote Plaskett on May 13, 2019, her 53rd birthday.
"Thanks! How'd you know?" she replied.
"You told me when you were in my office," Epstein said.
"You're good!!" responded Plaskett.
"No I'm bad, but I'm thoughtful," said Epstein.
After Epstein's arrest on July 9, 2019, Plaskett claimed she was unaware of the sex crime allegations against him until after the charges were announced. But other records contradict that claim, the Washington Free Beacon reported. In 2016, Plaskett's congressional challenger, Gordon Ackley, blasted Plaskett over donations she took from Epstein, saying it was "disgusting that our congresswoman took thousands of dollars from a convicted pedophile."
Though Plaskett distances herself from Epstein now, she may very well owe her political career to Epstein and his cronies. Plaskett won her inaugural campaign in 2014 by just 737 votes, in what local newspapers called "one of the biggest upsets" in Virgin Islands political history.
Epstein contributed heavily to that campaign and recruited several of his employees to do the same, at the request of Cecile de Jongh, an office manager for Epstein and the wife of the Virgin Islands' governor at the time.
"Your help is needed. We are trying to get Stacey Plaskett elected to Congress," de Jongh wrote in a June 19, 2014, email to Epstein. De Jongh said that Plaskett's primary challenger, then-Virgin Islands legislator Shawn-Michael Malone, had criticized Epstein's sexual exploits at a Senate hearing a week earlier.
"He is nasty and needs to be defeated," de Jongh wrote of Malone, adding that "we would have a friend in Stacey."
De Jongh asked Epstein to donate to Plaskett's campaign to help meet a goal of $75,000.
Epstein agreed and said he would contribute and direct several employees to give to Plaskett. They did so to the tune of $10,400, according to campaign finance records.
Epstein and several of his employees donated to Plaskett's campaigns in 2016 and 2018. The latest tranche of documents includes a $2,700 check that Epstein wrote Plaskett's campaign on July 16, 2018.
