Notice of Intention to Offer Resolution Raising A Question of the Privileges of the House

Floor Speech

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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)1 of rule IX, I rise to give notice of my intention to raise a question of the privileges of the House.

The form of the resolution is as follows:

Censuring and condemning Delegate Stacey Plaskett and removing her from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for conduct that reflects discreditably on the House of Representatives for colluding with convicted felony sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a congressional hearing.

Whereas Stacey Plaskett, the Delegate representing the United States Virgin Islands in the House of Representatives, inappropriately coordinated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a congressional hearing in February 2019;

Whereas Delegate Plaskett was actively coached by Epstein during the hearing, received instructions on specific lines of questioning, and was congratulated afterwards with the message ``Good work'';

Whereas Jeffrey Epstein was a known, convicted felony sex offender, having pled guilty and been convicted for procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute in a plea deal in 2008, and served a 13 month sentence;

Whereas in the course of that investigation, the FBI compiled reports on dozens of confirmed minors who credibly alleged sexual abuse by Epstein;

Whereas Epstein was under further Federal investigation beginning in November 2018, two months before Delegate Plaskett's recently revealed text exchange during a congressional hearing, following investigative reporting by the Miami Herald detailing Epstein's controversial 2008 plea deal and highlighting accounts of his victims;

Whereas Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, and he was later found dead in the New York Metropolitan Correctional Center;

Whereas according to documents released from Epstein's estate, during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing featuring testimony from Michael Cohen, disgraced former attorney to President Donald J. Trump, Delegate Plaskett coordinated her line of questioning with Jeffrey Epstein in real-time over text message while the hearing was underway;

Whereas Delegate Plaskett, who previously served as an assistant attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division, is known to have had extensive political, personal and professional connections with Epstein after his conviction as a sex offender up to the time of his arrest and then death in 2019;

Whereas Delegate Plaskett's relationship with Epstein stands in stark contrast to the public image she has curated for herself as a defender of justice and accountability while secretly collaborating with an individual whose crimes against vulnerable women and children shocked the nation;

Whereas Delegate Plaskett's willingness to receive instructions on official congressional proceedings from Epstein, a convicted felony sex offender with deeply concerning international associations, is especially alarming and inappropriate given her own past service in the U.S. Department of Justice and her current role on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and raises serious questions about Delegate Plaskett's judgement, integrity, and fitness to serve; and

Whereas such associations erode public trust in Congress, particularly when they involve using input from a sex offender to advance partisan attacks during official proceedings: Now, therefore, be it Resolved,

Section 1. Censure of Delegate Stacey Plaskett.

The House of Representatives--

(1) censures and condemns Delegate Stacey Plaskett for inappropriate coordination with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a Congressional Hearing, which reflects discreditably on the House of Representatives; and

(2) directs the Committee on Ethics to conduct a full investigation into the extent of Plaskett's ties to Epstein and any potential further improprieties.

SEC. 2. Removal from House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

The following named Member be, and is hereby, removed from the following committee of the House of Representatives:

Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Ms. Plaskett.

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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the House of Representatives has a responsibility and a duty to protect the integrity of this institution. What we learned 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 official oversight hearing with a man who is a convicted sex offender, a man whose crimes against minors shocked this entire Nation.

Let me be clear: This was not just casual contact. There were deliberate communications, and they shaped her official line of questioning in a congressional hearing.

The American people expect honesty. The American people expect integrity and judgment from their elected officials. They expect Members of Congress to conduct themselves with one word--decency--not to seek advice from a predator who exploited minor children.

This resolution does not accuse. It acknowledges what is documented. It censures Delegate Plaskett for her conduct; removes her from the Intelligence Committee, where her judgment is paramount; and directs a full investigation into the extent of her relationship with Mr. Epstein.

Some will try to spin this as politics, but protecting the honor of this body is not partisan. It is not Democrat. It is not Republican. Standing against a convicted predator's influence in our proceedings is not partisan. It is basic decency.

We cannot pretend this didn't happen. The American people deserve better.

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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, before I yield time to my good friend from Louisiana, to Representative Raskin, I will be careful in my remarks. You need to be careful with your facts. You have an 11-year veteran of this body who should know better. You have an 11-year Member of this body who took money. It wasn't a newspaper article. It was a fact. She took money from Jeffrey Epstein.

It is ironic that you are taking up by defending Ms. Plaskett, which is going to the Ethics Committee, but she has lost her willingness or lost her ability to serve because she got irrational judgment by taking money from a convicted pedophile of young children. It is unfathomable that you are taking the position that you are. These are facts.

You mentioned Ghislaine Maxwell. She is not a sitting Member of Congress.

She, as a sitting Member of Congress, has relinquished any sense of duty to serve on these committees.

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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire about how much time is remaining.

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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, let me just say for my good friends on the left, you know, we are hearing words. That is all this is, words. You are taking the side of a young lady who should have known better. She served for 11 years. She disparaged herself. She did it to herself.

This is not smoke and mirrors. These are actual texts that pretty well indict Ms. Plaskett. Would she probably take it back? Yes, but it is too late now.

Mr. Speaker, before I recognize Mr. Clyde, let me just say I don't know Ms. Plaskett. My overall impression of her has been good. She gives these words about protecting families and children. Where is that demonstrated when she took money from a convicted pedophile that had served time? Where was that?

The words are beyond believability. I think she is a nice person, but she missed the boat. She lost her--I don't know the word to describe it. For what she has done, she deserves to come off of the committees.

Let me remind you, we want to go to the Ethics Committee. To those listening, the Ethics Committee is five Democrats and five Republicans. Let them find it, but in the meantime, you do not deserve to serve on a committee, a national committee.

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Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

I find it interesting that the minority leader mentioned that we aren't really a majority. I will tell you, 77 million people are a majority. They rendered the consequences to elect the President that has revived this country from a disaster, 4 years under the Biden administration.

Let's go back into a little bit of history here about the hearing. The messages show that Plaskett texted Epstein before the hearing that started that day, at 7:55. She texted him, the sex offender, the predator on the children she says she protects. They had comments like he told Ms. Plaskett to talk about his grades. He mentioned that she had a great-looking outfit. This is from Mr. Epstein.

At 10:40, a broadcast feed cut to Ms. Plaskett, showing her moving her mouth as if she was chewing something.

Ms. Plaskett mentioned that she had multiple, multiple texts. According to the records--and I don't know how many of her texts came from those convicted of felonies, but at 2:25, minutes before Plaskett began questioning Cohen at 2:28, Epstein messaged back ``Good work'' at 2:34, 1 minute after Plaskett finished her questioning of Cohen. So the whole 5 minutes was pretty much conducted under the direction of a convicted pedophile.

Ms. Plaskett was reached by phone Thursday. Plaskett declined to answer questions about the text messages and directed all inquiries to her congressional staff. Plaskett's chief of staff said Thursday she was ``not in a position to confirm or not'' whether the Congresswoman was texting with Mr. Epstein at the hearing. She did not respond to follow-up questions.

Bottom line, these are facts. These are text messages. This wasn't smoke and mirrors, so it is interesting that they are taking that tact.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that the President is occupying the minds of my good friends on the left rent-free, and essentially, they bring him up every time. Keep doing it. Keep doing it.

This President has a record that is second to none. I hope my listeners in the audience can distinguish between just words and babbling on when they reject the facts of what has been presented. Texts don't lie. They can offer all the excuses--and I do think Ms. Plaskett is a nice lady. She made a mistake here, a bad mistake. She took advice from a convicted pedophile. That is indefensible in this discussion here today.

Mr. Speaker, I have listened to my colleagues defend the indefensible. I have heard everything from this is old news to this is just politics. Not a single person has disputed the key fact: written records in Epstein's own estate documents show Delegate Plaskett sought his input for an official hearing.

This is the issue, that alone. Everything else is just noise.

This Chamber cannot overlook that a sitting Member of Congress coordinated with a convicted sex offender to prepare questions for an official proceeding. Imagine telling the American people that that is acceptable. Imagine explaining to parents all across this country that Congress sees no problem with relying on the counsel of a predator of our innocent children.

Some of my colleagues want to blur the edges, soften the facts, or bury this under procedural fog--noise, as I call it. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and accountability is not optional.

This resolution is not excessive at all. It is appropriate. It is measured. It is necessary at this time.

The question before us is very simple: Do we uphold a minimal--a minimal--standard for ethical conduct, or do we just shrug and say: Well, maybe next time?

Mr. Speaker, the public deserves better. The House deserves better. The American people deserve better.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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