Epstein Documents: Rep. Plaskett Sought Help to Meet With Schumer

An associate of U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate-at-Large Stacey Plaskett reached out to Jeffrey Epstein in early 2018 to seek his help in arranging a meeting between Plaskett and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the territory pressed Congress for hurricane disaster relief, according to newly released Justice Department documents.

Plaskett is the sole congressional representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned a private island that later became central to sex-trafficking allegations against him.

In emails dated Jan. 24, 2018, Erika Kellerhals, a U.S. Virgin Islands tax attorney, sought Epstein's help in connecting the congresswoman with Schumer, D-N.Y., stating that she had been struggling to get time with him while lawmakers debated relief legislation in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which ripped through the Caribbean in 2017.

"We have to help Stacey get a meeting with Schumer. Any thoughts?" Kellerhals wrote to Epstein, the records show.

Epstein responded within hours: "[S]hould not be a problem need to know the reason and subject," he wrote back.

Kellerhals replied that Plaskett, the U.S. Virgin Islands' lone representative in Congress, "has been unable to confirm a meeting with him. He is driving the disaster relief bill and has only been talking about Puerto Rico and not the [Virgin Islands]. She's concerned we will be ignored," Kellerhals wrote, according to the documents.

After the exchange, Epstein emailed Kathryn Ruemmler, who served as a chief counsel under former President Barack Obama, to seek assistance in reaching Schumer, the documents show.

"schumer is driving the puerto rico . virgin islands relief=bill. the VI congressional rep Stacey plaskett , h=s not been able to get a meeting. confirmed with him. ca= you help?" Epstein wrote.

Ruemmler responded that she did not have a direct relationship with Schumer but would try another route.

"I do not have any relations=ip with him, but let me see whether I can get to his COS," she wrote, referring to Schumer's chief of staff.

The emails are part of a massive cache, totaling about 3.5 million pages, that the Justice Department began releasing in late January under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

It was not immediately clear from the documents whether a meeting between Plaskett and Schumer ultimately happened.

Congress later approved emergency funds for the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of a two-year budget package passed in February 2018.

There is also no public record of Schumer meeting with or directly communicating with Epstein, the late financier who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

The newly surfaced email chain adds to public scrutiny of Epstein's continued access to influential figures years after his 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor — and amid renewed attention to the breadth of contacts reflected in government files and related records.

Plaskett's ties to Epstein have drawn controversy for years. She narrowly avoided censure by the House last year after revelations that Epstein had coached her by text message during a congressional hearing in February 2019, according to prior reporting referenced alongside the document release.

After Epstein's July 2019 arrest on federal charges, Plaskett said she would donate to charity an amount equivalent to campaign donations she had received from Epstein and his associates.

Plaskett, a Democrat, is a nonvoting member of the House but she participates in floor debate and serves on several committees, including the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

In a video statement posted to Facebook on Thursday, Plaskett denounced Epstein, calling him a "demon" and said she was "disgusted by his deviant behavior."

She also insisted she supports the women who were victimized over the years and addressed a campaign donation she solicited in September 2018 from Epstein to promote Democrats in nationwide races.

"He had previously been a donor to the party," she said. "When the details over his crimes were exposed in November of 2018, I gave the money to women's organizations in the Virgin Islands."