Newly released documents from Jeffrey Epstein's estate show the convicted sex offender was texting a member of Congress during a 2019 House hearing with Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former fixer. The messages may have influenced the lawmaker's questioning, according to the Washington Post.
The transcripts, provided to Congress this week, do not name the lawmaker, but an analysis by the Post matching timestamps with video footage suggests it was Stacey Plaskett, the non-voting Democratic delegate for the US Virgin Islands. During the February 2019 hearing, Cohen testified against Trump, accusing him of racism, financial fraud and directing hush-money payments.
“Cohen brought up RONA - keeper of the secrets,” Epstein texted the person, referring to former Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff but misspelling her name. “RONA??” the person responded. “Quick I’m up next is that an acronym.” When Plaskett questioned Cohen, she asked about Trump associates and pressed for names, specifically mentioning “Ms Rhona.”
In another exchange, Epstein texted “Are you chewing.” One minute earlier, a live feed had shown Plaskett appearing to chew. “Not any more,” the person replied. “Chewing interior of my mouth. Bad habit from middle school.” Plaskett's chief of staff told the Post she was “not in a position to confirm or not” whether she had been texting Epstein.
The documents are part of over 20,000 pages released Wednesday, reigniting scrutiny of Epstein's connections. Democratic lawmakers said the messages suggest Trump may have known more about Epstein's activities than he has publicly acknowledged.
