Documents indicate Epstein texted Stacey Plaskett during Michael Cohen’s 2019 testimony: Report

WASHINGTON, DC: Jeffrey Epstein has been in the news a lot lately. New details about him seem to come out almost every day. This week, newly released documents included several text messages.

These messages suggest Epstein may have been in contact with a House member during Michael Cohen's 2019 hearing. Cohen was President Donald Trump’s attorney back then.

By comparing the time stamps on the texts with video from the hearing, reporters believe the person Epstein was messaging was Stacey Plaskett, as per The Washington Post. Interestingly, Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime executive assistant's name also came up.

Epstein's texts may have influenced Stacey Plaskett's questioning

The House Oversight Committee released the documents with the recipient’s name blacked out, but the timing and details of the texts closely match video from the hearing, suggesting Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic nonvoting delegate from the US Virgin Islands, was the person on the other end texting Epstein, as per The Washington Post. As of now, Plaskett's name has not been confirmed. 

Epstein’s texts, part of a large batch of records released by the House Oversight Committee, show that he seemed to be watching the hearing live. At one moment, he told the person he was texting that Cohen had mentioned former Trump executive assistant Graff.

Epstein wrote, “Cohen brought up RONA - keeper of the secrets,” misspelling Graff’s first name. The person replied, “RONA?? Quick I’m up next is that an acronym.” Epstein responded, “That's his assistant.”

At 10.41 am, a live broadcast showed Plaskett moving her mouth as if she were chewing. At the same time, Epstein texted, “Are you chewing?” The person answered, “Not any more. Chewing the interior of my mouth. Bad habit from middle school.”

As the hearing went on, the disgraced financier continued his observations and suggestions. At 12.25 pm, he texted, “He's opened the door to questions re who are the other henchmen at trump org.” Then at 12.50 pm, he asked, “How much longer for you?” The person replied, “Hours. Go to other mtgs.” 

Just minutes before Plaskett began her questions at 2.28 pm, she messaged Epstein, “Quick I’m up next.” After she finished, at 2.34 pm, Epstein texted her, “Good work.”

When it was Plaskett's turn to question Cohen, she shifted the focus to others inside Trump’s circle. She started by asking, “Are there other people that we should be meeting with?” Cohen pointed to one of the most senior figures at the company, saying, “So Allen Weisselberg is the chief financial officer in The Trump Organization.”

Plaskett pushed for more details and urged him to move quickly. “You’ve got to quickly give us as many names as you can so we can get to them. Is Ms. Rhona, what is Ms. Rhona’s …?” she asked.

Plaskett declined to comment on the messages, and her chief of staff said they could not confirm whether she had been texting Epstein during the hearing.

White House defends Trump against Epstein allegations

Over the years, Trump has offered different explanations for why their long friendship ended, and he has tried to distance himself from Epstein.

Recently, the Democratic Party’s X (formerly Twitter) account faced criticism after sharing a post claiming that Trump spent Thanksgiving with the disgraced financier in 2017. The post has now been deleted.

The president has firmly denied having any relationship with Epstein back in 2017. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against the allegations, stressing that the president had done nothing wrong. Even records from November 23, 2017, show that Trump was engaged in official Thanksgiving events at the time. He also had several other scheduled commitments.