Democrats thought they finally found their smoking gun linking Republicans to Jeffrey Epstein.
Squad member Jasmine Crockett raced to the House floor with what she believed was bombshell evidence.
And Jasmine Crockett just humiliated herself with this stunningly ignorant attack on Lee Zeldin.
Democrats Scramble To Defend Epstein Connection With Colleague
Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's newly released documents revealed shocking communications between the predator and Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett during a 2019 congressional hearing.
Text messages show Epstein actively coached Plaskett on what questions to ask Michael Cohen during Trump-focused testimony that February.
Epstein even complimented her performance in real-time, texting "Good work" just minutes after she wrapped up her questioning.¹
House Republicans introduced a resolution to censure Plaskett and remove her from the Intelligence Committee for this inappropriate coordination with a convicted sex offender.
That's when Squad member Jasmine Crockett decided to go on the attack.
Crockett Thought She Had The Perfect Comeback
Crockett took to the House floor to defend her colleague by claiming Republicans also took money from Jeffrey Epstein.
"Folks who also took money from somebody named Jeffrey Epstein, as I had my team dig in very quickly, Mitt Romney, The NRCC, Lee Zeldin, George Bush, McCain-Palin," Crockett declared.²
https://twitter.com/MediasLies/status/1991021867378094544?s=20
Notice her careful wording: "somebody named Jeffrey Epstein."
That qualifier turned out to be the tell that Crockett knew exactly what she was doing.
Lee Zeldin, Trump's current EPA Administrator, didn't wait long to set the record straight.
"Yes Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine," Zeldin fired back on X. "NO FREAKIN RELATION YOU GENIUS!!!"³
https://twitter.com/LeeMZeldin/status/1990993148244312175?s=20
Federal Election Commission records proved Zeldin's innocence immediately.
The donations came from Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, a New York physician, with some contributions made after the convicted sex offender Epstein killed himself in 2019.
Chuck Ross of The Washington Free Beacon analyzed Crockett's claims and found she was "disastrously wrong" about every single name she listed.
None of the donations came from the Jeffrey Epstein who coordinated with Stacey Plaskett.⁴
Democrats Can't Hide From Their Own Epstein Problem
Here's what has Democrats squirming in their seats.
Stacey Plaskett didn't just receive donations from Jeffrey Epstein years before his crimes became widely known.
She actively coordinated with him during a 2019 congressional hearing — years after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.
When Republicans tried to hold Plaskett accountable, three Republicans joined Democrats in blocking the censure resolution.
The vote failed 209-214.⁵
Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries defended Plaskett as having "great intelligence" and "great integrity."
But Jeffries has his own Epstein problem.
Documents revealed that Democratic fundraisers solicited donations from Epstein on Jeffries' behalf in 2013, describing him as "Brooklyn's Barack" and arranging potential meetings with President Obama.⁶
This happened five years after Epstein's conviction.
Jamie Raskin's defense of Plaskett reached peak absurdity when he claimed she was simply "taking a phone call from her constituent."
That "constituent" was feeding her questions to attack Trump while facing multiple lawsuits from his victims.
The same Democrats who spent years claiming Trump's name appearing in Epstein documents proved guilt by association now argue actual coordination with Epstein means nothing.
Crockett's desperation to defend Plaskett backfired spectacularly because she couldn't be bothered to do basic research before rushing to the House floor.
Or perhaps she knew the truth and used the qualifier "somebody named" to maintain plausible deniability while spreading lies.
Either way, she exposed the rot at the core of Democrat strategy on Epstein: deflect blame to Republicans while protecting their own colleagues who had actual relationships with the convicted predator.
Voters aren't buying the hypocrisy anymore.
¹ Fox News, "GOP threatens to censure Plaskett over Epstein texts," November 18, 2025.
² Acyn (via X/Twitter), Video of Crockett floor speech, November 18, 2025.
³ Lee Zeldin (via X/Twitter), Response to Crockett accusations, November 19, 2025.
⁴ Chuck Ross (via X/Twitter), Analysis of Crockett claims, November 19, 2025.
⁵ Axios, "Republicans fail in vote to oust Stacey Plaskett from House Intel over Epstein texts," November 18, 2025.
⁶ CNN Politics, "House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has refused to say if he believes it was appropriate for Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett to text with Jeffrey Epstein," November 18, 2025.
