Crime

House Defeats GOP Bid to Censure Plaskett Over Epstein Texts, Keeps Her Intelligence Committee Seat

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted down a Republican-backed effort to censure Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands and strip her of her seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, ending the push with a narrow 214–209 defeat. The outcome keeps her assignment intact after several Republicans broke with their party to oppose the measure. Three voted with Democrats in Plaskett’s favor, while four others declined to vote, producing a total of seven GOP defections. The failed resolution, introduced by Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, stemmed from documents released last week as part of more than 20,000 pages from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate. Among the materials were text messages sent between Epstein and Plaskett during a February 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing featuring testimony from Michael Cohen, former attorney to Donald Trump. The messages included Epstein’s real-time commentary, personal compliments, and suggestions related t...