By There is no bottom for Democrats. Newly released records from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate reveal that the disgraced financier was sending real-time text messages to Rep. Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat from the Virgin Islands, during a high-profile 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing centered on Donald Trump’s alleged hush-money payments. The exchanges, disclosed in roughly 20,000 pages of documents released Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee, show Epstein feeding Plaskett suggested lines of inquiry as Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, testified before the committee.
The messages were sent as Cohen described payments to women who claimed affairs with Trump before the 2016 election — allegations the former president has long denied, according to The New York Post. Watching the hearing on television, Epstein alerted Plaskett when Cohen referenced Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime executive assistant. “Cohen brought up RONA – keeper of the secrets,” Epstein wrote, misspelling Graff’s name. “RONA??” Plaskett replied. “Quick I’m up next is that an acronym.” Epstein responded: “Thats his assistant.”
Epstein continued offering direction as the hearing unfolded. At 12:25 p.m., he texted: “Hes opened the door to questions re who are the other henchmen at trump org.” Plaskett replied, “Yup. Very aware and waiting my turn.” When she questioned Cohen hours later, at 2:28 p.m., Plaskett pressed him on Graff and other Trump aides. “You’ve got to quickly give us as many names as you can so we can get to them,” she said. Cohen identified Graff as Trump’s executive assistant whose office sat “directly next to his” and who was “involved in a lot that went on.” One minute after Plaskett finished, Epstein texted: “Good work.”
Plaskett’s name was redacted in the documents, but analysts matched the timestamps and content to footage of the hearing. Her office later confirmed receiving messages from Epstein, saying, “During the hearing, Congresswoman Plaskett received texts from staff, constituents and the public at large offering advice, support and in some cases partisan vitriol, including from Epstein.” The statement emphasized her prosecutorial background and longstanding opposition to sexual assault and human trafficking. She had returned $8,100 in campaign contributions from Epstein in July 2019.
The disclosure landed on the same day Democrats faced a separate political storm of their own making—one that also centered, awkwardly, on Epstein. Democrats found themselves on the defensive after amplifying a 2017 email from Epstein to former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and highlighting it as “breaking news.” In that message, Epstein called Trump “one of the worst people” he knew with “not one decent cell in his body,” labeling him “dangerous.” The Democratic Party’s official Twitter account posted the excerpt alongside an Oversight Committee document image, ostensibly as evidence against Trump.
Democrats yesterday: Jeffrey Epstein was best friends with Trump and this proves Trump is a bad man!
Democrats today: Jeffrey Epstein hated Trump and this proves Trump is a bad man!
Pick a lane already. pic.twitter.com/HsLzVN74Cp
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) November 13, 2025
The online reaction was instant and punishing. Instead of weighing down Trump, Democrats were accused of leaning on the judgment of a man whose name had become synonymous with predation. “Democrats yesterday: Jeffrey Epstein was best friends with Trump… Democrats today: Jeffrey Epstein hated Trump… Pick a lane already,” wrote @DataRepublican, attaching a meme. Others were blunter: “Dems now defend a pedo because the pedo hates Trump… Get a grip.” By Thursday evening, #DemocratsForEpstein was trending, pushed along by posts like @TRHLofficial’s, which mocked the party for elevating Epstein’s words as if they carried moral authority.
The White House dismissed the episode as political theater. Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told the BBC the emails “prove literally nothing” and called the Democratic messaging a “hoax.” Meanwhile, Democrats were still answering questions about another document they circulated earlier in the week—an email they released with the alleged victim’s name crossed out and replaced with “VICTIM,” implying the president had “spent hours” with her. Reporters later noted that she had testified she never saw Trump do anything wrong, turning the release into another self-inflicted wound.
Democrats redacted the name of Virginia Guiffre in the email. That's because Guiffre testified under oath she never saw Trump do anything wrong or at Epstein's house.
Ron Wyden needs to be asked why he takes the word of Jeffrey Epstein over his victim. https://t.co/gNniGgBr1Z
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) November 13, 2025
Republicans quickly tied the controversies together, arguing that Democrats were now simultaneously drawing on Epstein’s private messages for political gain and distancing themselves only when the fallout proved severe. For Trump allies, the newly released Plaskett text messages became further evidence of what they called the “deep and tangled” intersections between Epstein and Democratic institutions. Trump himself urged the Justice Department this week to investigate Epstein’s political ties. On Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to lead a review “with urgency and integrity.”
Epstein, already a convicted sex offender, controlled two private islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands — Great Saint James and Little Saint James — later described by federal authorities as central to his trafficking network. He routinely hosted Democratic donors.
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