The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee drew criticism from President Donald Trump and the White House on Tuesday after dismissing a colleague’s text messages with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as simply “taking a phone call from her constituent.” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) made the remark during debate over a resolution to censure Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) for coordinating with Epstein ahead of a Feb. 27, 2019, House Oversight Committee hearing featuring testimony from Michael Cohen.
“They’ve arraigned a Democratic member for taking a phone call from her constituent, Jeffrey Epstein, in the middle of a hearing,” Raskin said during floor debate. “And of course, I don’t think there’s any rule here against taking phone calls in a hearing.” He went on to question the basis for the censure effort, asking Republicans where the ethical or legal transgression was and warning them to “be careful” in setting such a precedent.
The White House blasted Raskin’s comments, calling him “one of the worst to ever disgrace the halls of Congress” and describing Plaskett’s interaction with Epstein as collusion with a convicted sex offender. Deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson questioned why Raskin was minimizing the interaction, invoking reports about other Democrats’ past connections to Epstein.
Commentators on social media also condemned Raskin’s defense of Plaskett, with users highlighting alleged hypocrisy and resurfacing his own remarks tying Donald Trump to Epstein. Independent journalist Lee Fang, who has reported on Plaskett’s ties to Epstein, said Raskin’s description was “incredibly dishonest,” pointing to Plaskett’s past work with Epstein-linked interests and political support from his network.
The motion to censure Plaskett and remove her from the House Intelligence Committee failed in a 214–209 vote. Earlier Tuesday, the House voted 427–1 to require the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein, who was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges in 2019 and found dead in jail later that year. Copies of Plaskett’s communication with Epstein were among 20,000 documents from his estate released Nov. 12 by the House Oversight Committee.
In their text exchanges, Epstein advised Plaskett on how to frame her questioning of Michael Cohen, including prompts about other figures at the Trump Organization. “Yup. Very aware and waiting my turn,” she responded, according to the New York Post.
