The House voted 209-214 Tuesday night against formally reprimanding Del. Stacey Plaskett for communicating with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 Oversight Committee hearing.
Three House Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas and Dave Joyce of Ohio — voted with all Democrats against the measure. Three Republicans voted present: Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania and Jay Obernolte of California.
Plaskett drew scrutiny after documents released from the Epstein estate revealed her texts with him. She’s denied wrongdoing, saying on the House floor Tuesday that Epstein was a constituent, that her contact was limited to information-gathering and that it was not public information at the time that Epstein had been under federal investigation.
“I know how to question individuals. I know how to seek information. I have sought information from confidential informants, from murderers, from other individuals because I want the truth,” she said on the House floor.
Republicans contend Plaskett’s contact with Epstein was more substantive and shaped her questioning during the hearing, which Plaskett denies.
“Standing against a convicted predator’s influence in our proceedings is not partisan. It’s basic decency,” said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who brought the measure to the House floor through a fast-track process bypassing committees and Hill leadership.
But the measure rejected Tuesday by the House would have also removed Plaskett from the House Intelligence Committee, a step too far for some lawmakers. She would have been the latest House Democrats to be removed from a committee position by Hill Republicans after Republicans voted last Congress to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her past comments on Israel.
The failed vote to reprimand Plaskett comes on the same day the House voted almost unanimously to force the Department of Justice to release more files about its case against Epstein. The controversy has roiled Congress and split the MAGA base for months.
In retaliation for the move against Plaskett, Democrats introduced a measure to censure Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and to remove him from the House Armed Services Committee. He’s faced a spate of ethical issues including an since-withdrawn allegation of assault and an ongoing legal dispute over a previous relationship. But that measure is likely to be withdrawn now that the Plaskett effort has failed.
The failure of the Plaskett measure prompted an outcry from conservative Republicans who had pushed for it, with some accusing leaders of cutting deals to avoid a vote on the Mills resolution.
“They’re brokering back end deals to avoid bringing forward justice in both Democrat and Republican chambers,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.). “So it’s literally covering up public corruption.”
Calen Razor contributed to this report.
