Newly released documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate show that the convicted sex offender exchanged text messages with a Democratic member of Congress during Michael Cohen’s February 2019 testimony, and that those messages may have influenced the congresswoman’s questioning of Cohen. The documents, published Wednesday by the House Oversight Committee, include copies of Epstein’s digital communications, emails, and text messages, The Washington Post
In the texts, Epstein appeared to be watching the hearing in real time and notified the congresswoman — whose name was redacted in the documents — that Cohen had mentioned former Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff during his testimony.
At the time, Cohen was accusing Trump of racism, financial manipulation, and authorizing hush-money payments, allegations Trump denied.
Epstein texted, “Cohen brought up RONA – keeper of the secrets,” misspelling Graff’s name.
“RONA??” the lawmaker replied. “Quick I’m up next is that an acronym,” she wrote, indicating she was moments away from questioning Cohen.
The timestamps on the messages matched the live hearing feed, and the content indicated that the texting partner was Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, who served as a member of the House Oversight Committee.
