Tensions erupted in Congress as the Epstein Files Transparency Act moved toward President Donald Trump’s desk this week.
A Republican-led effort to censure Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., over her 2019 text messages with convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein collapsed, sparking accusations from some Republicans of hypocrisy and backroom dealing among their colleagues. GOP lawmakers also accused their own leadership of quietly shielding Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., from a similar censure effort.
Here are the details.
Plaskett’s texts with Epstein and the failed censure effort
Republicans launched the effort to censure Plaskett after learning she exchanged text messages with Epstein while she questioned former Trump attorney Michael Cohen during a 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing.
Documents released last week show Epstein prompting Plaskett on lines of questioning. The Washington Post reported he encouraged her to press Cohen about Trump’s former executive assistant, which she did. Minutes after Plaskett finished questioning Cohen — which Epstein appeared to be watching on TV — he texted her, “Good work.”
According to the New York Post, Epstein had already been convicted on state prostitution charges by the time of the hearing and would face sex-trafficking charges months later.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who authored the censure resolution, argued the messages show Plaskett “was actively coached by Epstein” and raised “serious questions” about her judgment and fitness to serve.
Plaskett dismissed the resolution as “political theater” during floor debate. She insisted the texts showed “no participation, no assistance, and no involvement in any illegal activity” and claimed that it “was not public knowledge at that time that he [Epstein] was under federal investigation.”
Facing mounting backlash, she reiterated her defense in a Nov. 19 CNN interview.
“I believed that Jeffrey Epstein had information, and I was going to get information to get at the truth,” she said, adding she did not view their connection as “a friendship.”
When the interviewer noted that Epstein was already a known sex offender at the time, Plaskett responded: “There are a lot of people who have done a lot of crimes, and as a prosecutor, you get information from people where you can.”
Despite the uproar, the House ultimately rejected the censure 209-214 on Nov. 18. Three Republicans — Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Lance Gooden of Texas, and Dave Joyce of Ohio — joined all Democrats in opposing it. Three other Republicans voted “present,” and four sat out entirely, according to the Post.
Censure threat against Mills resurfaces
At the same time, Democrats threatened to revive their censure push against Mills and remove him from the House Armed Services Committee if Republicans succeeded in censuring Plaskett. According to Axios, the move marked the third time Democrats have leveraged a Mills censure threat to derail GOP attempts to punish a Democrat.
Mills faces allegations of stolen valor, financial misconduct, and domestic abuse, though he denies all claims. Last month, a judge issued a restraining order against him after an ex-girlfriend accused him of threats and harassment, NBC News reported.
The pressure intensified on Nov. 19, when the House Ethics Committee opened a formal investigation into the growing list of allegations against Mills. On the same day, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., introduced her own privileged resolution to censure Mills and strip him of committee assignments, citing allegations of harassment, assault, stolen valor, and improper contracts involving his defense company, according to CBS News. Hours later, the House voted 310-103 to refer Mace’s censure resolution to the Ethics Committee — a move that effectively shelved the measure
Republicans accuse leadership of backroom deals
Tempers flared immediately after the Plaskett vote. On Nov. 18, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., used a “parliamentary inquiry” — typically a procedural question — to accuse leaders in both parties of cutting deals to spare Plaskett and Mills.
“I was wondering if the Speaker of the House of Representatives can explain why leadership on both sides, both Democrat and Republican, are cutting backend deals to cover up public corruption in the House of Representatives from both Republican and Democrat members of Congress?” Luna said.
“The gentlelady has not stated a proper parliamentary inquiry,” the acting House speaker replied.
“Thank you very much,” Luna shot back, “but I think the American people know what happened tonight.”
She later posted the clip on X, writing that the Plaskett censure failed “because house leadership exchanged that censure failure for the withdrawal of a vote to censure and refer Cory Mills to house ethics for investigation. The swamp protects itself.”
Mills rejected Luna’s allegation, writing in a post on X that “there was no backroom deal, no negotiation, and no quid pro quo of any kind.”
“Turn your comments on, Mills,” Luna quickly responded, pointing out that he had disabled social media comments on his statement. “You’re saying there are no backroom deals? This is the second censure you’ve been wrapped up in, and once again it was dropped — followed by a pressure campaign demanding members stop talking about it. I wonder why. Very interesting.”
Other Republicans echoed her frustration.
“The District’s Industrial Corruption Complex (DICC) is hereby protected,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., wrote in a post regarding the failed Plaskett vote.
Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., accused several Republicans of tanking the vote to shield Mills.
“Tonight, a handful of Republicans took a dive on a vote to strip Stacy Plaskett of her position on House intel because of her ties to Epstein,” Cammack said in a post on X. “They did it to protect a Republican facing his own ethics issues from a similar vote. This backroom deal s*** is swampy, wrong and always deserves to be called out.”
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