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Plaskett Giving Epstein Donations to Charity
Bill Kossler July 10, 2019
Stacey Plaskett addresses a meeting on St. Croix. (Source file photo)
Following the arrest of V.I. tax-break recipient Jeffrey Epstein on child molestation charges, Delegate Stacey Plaskett announced Tuesday she will make charitable donations in the amount Epstein donated to her election campaigns in 2016 and 2018.
“In light of new information and allegations that have been made against Jeffrey Epstein I have decided to make contributions to Virgin Islands organizations that work with women and children in the amount of his previous contributions,” Plaskett said in a statement.
“My litmus test for accepting campaign contributions has been based on whether the donor’s money was made legally or by ill-gotten means and that the contributor will not ask of me or my Congressional office for any special favors. All my contributions have passed that test. In this case however, I am uncomfortable having received money from someone who has been accused of these egregious actions multiple times,” she said.
She said she hoped any other V.I. elected officials who took Epstein’s money will do the same.
The move comes on the heels of news articles suggesting she might not return the money.
According to the Federal Election Commission website, Epstein made three donations of $2,700 each, for a total of $8,100 between 2016 and 2018. Those cover two election cycles, in which Plaskett received a little more than $722,000 in campaign contributions.
https://stthomassource.com/content/2019/07/10/plaskett-giving-epstein-donations-to-charity/
Democratic congresswoman unlikely to return contribution from accused child molester Jeffrey Epstein
Published Mon, Jul 8 20195:58 PM EDTUpdated Mon, Jul 8 20197:04 PM EDT
Brian Schwartz@schwartzbCNBC
• Jeffrey Epstein, who owns an entire private island in the Virgin Islands called Little Saint James, contributed funds to Rep. Stacey Plaskett, according to a Federal Election Commission record.
• Epstein has been accused of sexually exploiting dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005, according to prosecutors.
• Plaskett is involved with committees and has certain responsibilities on the floor but not if her vote is going to be decisive.
Wealthy political financier and accused child molester Jeff Epstein contributed directly to Democratic Rep. Stacey Plaskett’s last two campaigns for Congress.
The U.S. Virgin Islands lawmaker has decided she will be keeping the cash, even after Epstein’s arrest in New York, at least for now.
Mike McQueery, a spokesman for Plaskett’s office, told CNBC she has no immediate plans to refund the donation. “I’m pretty sure she’s not,” he said and later confirmed, in a follow-up phone call to verify her position, that his boss is unlikely to return the contribution. He declined to comment further about the investigation and how Plaskett knew Epstein.
Since the Virgin Islands is considered a territory, its representative in the House of Representatives is a delegate with limited voting power. Plaskett is involved with committees and has certain responsibilities on the floor but not if her vote is going to be decisive.
Still, the decision by Plaskett is significant as it shows that at least one politician is remaining defiant with holding onto donations from Epstein, even after Epstein’s arrest. He’s been accused of sexually exploiting dozens of underage girls between 2002 and 2005, according to prosecutors.
“Epstein created a vast network of underage victims for him to sexually exploit,” the indictment read. Epstein on Monday pleaded not guilty to the charges and has been ordered to be held without bail.
Epstein, who owns an entire private island in the Virgin Islands called Little Saint James, contributed $2,700 to Plaskett, the most an individual donor can give directly to a candidate in both the primary and the general election, during her 2018 run for re-election, according to a Federal Election Commission record. In 2016, he wrote two separate $2,700 checks for Plaskett, including one during her primary campaign which she eventually won. She finished the 2018 congressional midterms raising just over $359,000.
Plaskett appears to be one of the few candidates that received a donation from Epstein last cycle. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee saw a $10,000 check from him in October but immediately sent it back.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/08/congresswoman-to-keep-contribution-from-accused-child-molester-epstein.html