Whoops.
Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett is under intense fire after she tried to tie Republicans to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein — and failed spectacularly at it.
After the Epstein files were effectively released this week, Del. Stacey Plaskett, the non-voting congressional representative for the U.S. Virgin Islands, came under intense scrutiny for texting with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing about President Donald Trump’s potential conflicts of interest.
This revelation drew furious condemnation from Republicans — and an impassioned defense from Democrats.
In her zeal to defend Plaskett, however, Crockett made a blunder of Texas-sized proportions.
Crockett claimed that she had her team dig into Federal Election Commission records, presumably to dig up dirt on her Republican rivals.
And boy, did she find that dirt — almost.
Crockett’s crackpot research team found out that Trump’s current Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin had accepted campaign funds from a “Jeffrey Epstein” during his New York congressional days.
This would’ve been quite the “gotcha” moment for Crockett — if only the Epstein that had contributed to Zeldin was actually the Jeffrey Epstein.
Do you think Jasmine Crockett will be a Texas senator?
But he wasn’t. Zeldin’s donor was not the same Epstein convicted of pedophilia and accused of running an underage sex ring.
Pundits and politicians on both sides of the aisle seized on this moment, excoriating Crockett for her amateurish sleuthing.
Chuck Ross, investigative reporter for The Washington Free Beacon, took to X to point out that not only did Crockett’s ace research team dig up the wrong Jeffrey Epstein, they dug up an Epstein who had donated to Zeldin after the more infamous Epstein had already died.
Crockett getting this so badly wrong is I guess why politicians usually outsource their oppo research to the professionals.
But you also would expect a member of Congress to know more about FEC filings. https://t.co/KCYvXUN27Z
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) November 19, 2025
“Crockett getting this so badly wrong is I guess why politicians usually outsource their oppo research to the professionals,” Ross posted. “But you also would expect a member of Congress to know more about FEC filings.”
Political pundit Jonathan Turley, meanwhile, opted to just poke fun at Crockett.
…This appears all part of the plan, according to Crockett:
“I always tell people that God had this amazing, beautiful plan that I was definitely not clued in on” …— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 19, 2025
Zeldin himself also responded to Crockett’s wildly misleading claims.
Yes Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine.
NO 👏 FREAKIN 👏 RELATION 👏 YOU 👏 GENIUS!!! https://t.co/gYQlcUd2we
— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) November 19, 2025
“Yes Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine,” Zeldin posted. “NO. FREAKIN. RELATION. YOU. GENIUS!!!”
And yet, the most scathing remarks about Crockett’s blunder came from her own side.
“If you’re looking for a good way to light $50 million on fire and lose by 15 points, then Jasmine Crockett is your candidate,” a Democratic strategist told Fox News after Crockett’s floor remarks.
The Democrat strategist then spoke up about Crockett’s seeming plans to challenge Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn for his seat.
“She’s got no shot to win that Texas Senate race, and screw-ups like this show why she’s probably the worst candidate possible,” the Democratic strategist said.
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