Stacey Plaskett and Jeffrey Epstein's Text Exchanges

The most prominent and recently documented instance of a member of Congress exchanging text messages with Jeffrey Epstein involves Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. These exchanges occurred on February 27, 2019, during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing where Michael Cohen, then-President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, testified about Trump's business practices, conflicts of interest, and hush-money payments.

According to documents released in November 2025 from Epstein's estate—totaling over 20,000 pages of emails, texts, and other records analyzed by outlets like The Washington Post—Epstein appears to have provided real-time coaching to Plaskett on her questioning of Cohen. The timestamps in the texts align precisely with video footage of the hearing, confirming Plaskett as the recipient (names were redacted in the original release). Here's a breakdown of the key exchanges:

Time (EST)	Sender	Message	Context
~2:20 p.m.	Epstein	"Cohen brought up RONA - keeper of the secrets"	Referring to Rhona Graff, Trump's longtime executive assistant (Epstein misspelled her name as "Rona"). This prompted Plaskett's follow-up questions.
~2:20 p.m.	Plaskett	"RONA??"	Seeking clarification.
~2:25 p.m.	Plaskett	"Quick I’m up next is that an acronym"	Indicating she was about to question Cohen.
~2:25 p.m.	Epstein	"Thats his assistant"	Clarifying Graff's role.
2:28 p.m.	(Hearing)	Plaskett questions Cohen about Graff and other Trump associates, asking for "as many names as you can so we can get to them" and specifically mentioning "Ms. Rhona." Cohen confirms Graff's proximity to Trump and involvement in operations.	Direct influence from Epstein's tip.
2:34 p.m.	Epstein	"Good work"	Praise after Plaskett's questioning ends.
~2:33 p.m.	Epstein	"Are you chewing"	Noted after a TV feed briefly showed Plaskett chewing the inside of her cheek.
~2:34 p.m.	Plaskett	"Not any more... Chewing interior of my mouth. Bad habit from middle school"	Lighthearted response.

Plaskett's office has stated that she receives numerous unsolicited texts from staff, constituents, and the public during hearings, including "advice, support, or partisan vitriol." They described Epstein's input as one such message amid the barrage, and emphasized that Plaskett had no prior personal relationship with him beyond professional overlaps in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Epstein's Little St. James island (often called "Epstein Island") is located in the USVI, which Plaskett represents, and she previously served as general counsel for the USVI Economic Development Authority (2007–2012), during which Epstein's companies received tax incentives. Additionally, Epstein and his associates donated approximately $34,000 to Plaskett's campaigns between 2014 and 2020, including $8,100 directly from Epstein. Plaskett has since called accepting these funds a "bad fundraising decision," donated the money to USVI nonprofits supporting women and children, and publicly condemned Epstein as "despicable," stating she was unaware of the full extent of his crimes until 2019.

A 2023 lawsuit by Epstein victims alleged USVI officials, including Plaskett, enabled his trafficking, but it was dismissed.

Other Members of Congress?

No other members of Congress are documented in the released materials or credible reports as having texted with Epstein, yet. Broader Epstein files (from his 2019 arrest and estate) mention associations with figures like former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, but these involve flights, visits, or emails—not texts—and neither was a sitting member of Congress at the time of Epstein's relevant activities. 17GEN4.com