Senate Files Reveal Efforts to Meet with Senator Chuck Schumer

US Representative from US Virgin Islands Seeks Meeting with Senate Minority Leader

A representative of the US Virgin Islands’ sole delegate to the House of Representatives, Stacey Plaskett, reached out to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein for assistance in arranging a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. According to documents released by the US Justice Department, an associate of Plaskett’s, Erika Kellerhals, sent an email to Epstein on January 24, 2018, requesting his help in securing a meeting between Plaskett and Schumer.

Kellerhals stated that Plaskett was seeking to lobby Schumer for relief after two hurricanes had affected the Caribbean in 2017. In response, Epstein agreed to assist, stating that he would facilitate a meeting with Schumer. However, it is unclear if this meeting took place.

Epstein also reached out to Kathy Ruemmler, a former chief counsel to US President Barack Obama, for help in setting up the meeting. Ruemmler replied that she would attempt to contact Schumer’s chief of staff on his behalf.

The email exchange has been made public as part of a larger release of documents related to US authorities’ investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. It is not clear if Plaskett and Schumer ever met or communicated directly.

Plaskett’s ties to Epstein have been the subject of controversy in the past. In 2022, she narrowly escaped censure from the House of Representatives over revelations that Epstein had coached her during a Congressional hearing.

Source: Al Jazeera