House Republicans tried and failed last night to censure Rep. Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands. The move came in the wake of revelations about Plaskett texting with Jeffrey Epstein during a hearing.
Three Republicans voted against the measure, along with House Democrats who voted unanimously against it, and three Republicans voted present.
Great work guys, really great.
FOX News reports:
House Freedom Caucus bid to censure Democrat over Epstein links goes down in flamesA House Freedom Caucus-led bid to strip a member of the House Democratic Caucus of her role on a high-profile committee after her ties to Jeffrey Epstein were revealed earlier this month failed on Tuesday night.Lawmakers voted against censuring Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-V.I., the Virgin Islands’ nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives, over newly surfaced text messages between her and Epstein that were exchanged during the February 2019 congressional testimony of Michael Cohen.The censure had also included language to remove Plaskett from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees entities like the FBI and CIA and regularly receives classified briefings on matters of national security.Three Republicans joined Democrats to kill the measure, while three more Republicans voted “present.” It ultimately failed in a 209-214 vote…Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who introduced the resolution, said during debate on the measure on Tuesday, “The House of Representatives has a responsibility and a duty to protect the integrity of this institution. And what we learn from the documents released by Jeffrey Epstein’s estate is nothing short of alarming.””Those documents show that Delegate Stacey Plaskett, a sitting member of Congress, coordinated her questioning during an Oversight — an official Oversight hearing, with a man who was a convicted sex offender, a man whose crimes against minors shocked this entire nation.”
What is wrong with the Republicans?
More from The Hill:
During debate on the resolution, Plaskett defended herself in an impassioned speech on the House floor, noting that it was not known Epstein was under investigation at the time they communicated and adding that she donated all his campaign contributions to women’s organizations.“They’ve taken a text exchange which shows no participation, no assistance, no involvement in any illegal activity and weaponized it for political theater because that is what this is,” Plaskett said.“I see members coming and speaking against me who have never even had a conversation with me. You don’t know me. You don’t know the work that I’ve done. You don’t know the support that I’ve given to families, to individuals, to support people. I worked a full-time job with children under the age of five, going to law school at night. Do you think I would risk my law degree for any individual, never mind a reprehensible individual by the name of Jeffrey Epstein? I would not.”
The GOP’s failure here is maddening. This should not have been a difficult effort.
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