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Republican strategist Scott Jennings warned that Democrats could face political backlash as newly released Epstein documents reveal deeper ties between Democratic figures and Jeffrey Epstein.
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Jennings cited examples including Stacey Plaskett receiving guidance from Epstein after his conviction, Hakeem Jeffries reportedly fundraising with him, and Larry Summers seeking personal advice from the disgraced financier.
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While Democrats try to frame the disclosures as a Trump-related scandal, Jennings argued the evidence may ultimately point to a larger problem within their own party.
This whole situation feels like one of those political boomerangs that gets thrown with a lot of confidence and then comes screaming back toward the thrower’s forehead. Democrats have been pushing hard to tie Trump to Epstein—as if that’s some masterstroke strategy—and now we’re watching new documents spill out showing that some of their own biggest names were far more tangled up with the guy than anyone realized. You’ve got Plaskett texting Epstein for talking points after he’d already been convicted. Summers leaning on him for dating advice. Jeffries reportedly trying to raise money with him.
It’s messy, and Jennings is right: if Democrats keep trying to turn this into a Trump story, they might discover they’re the ones standing in the blast radius. The House rejecting attempts to punish Plaskett shows just how sensitive this whole thing is. This isn’t a clean political weapon—it’s a live grenade rolling around the floor.
From Western Journal:
Republican strategist Scott Jennings said Tuesday that Democrats may soon face political blowback as newly released records continue to expose previously unknown ties between high-profile party figures and disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Newly released Epstein files revealed deep Democratic ties to Epstein, including messages showing that Democratic Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett exchanged texts with him during Michael Cohen’s 2019 testimony. Appearing on the podcast “2WAY Tonight with Mark Halperin,” Jennings said Democrats are playing with fire as they escalate efforts to tie President Donald Trump to the late financier.
“This was just the latest Democratic plan to tie him up and try to tie him down. He’s lived through these episodes before. And I think what we’re learning today, Mark, Democrats may be careful what they wish for here because, look, what do we already know?” Jennings asked Mark Halperin.
Jennings pointed to several examples already in the public record.
“A bunch of prominent Democrats were pretty tied in with Epstein. We have Stacey Plaskett on the House floor today trying to defend herself. It turns out after he was convicted, she’s getting text messages from Epstein programming her on what to say in congressional hearings,” Jennings said. “We know Hakeem Jeffries was trying to fundraise with Epstein. We know Larry Summers has now had to take a step back from public life because he was soliciting dating advice from Epstein.”
Jennings said Democrats are attempting to frame the unfolding disclosures as a Trump-related scandal, but he argued the facts may cut the opposite way.
“I think what we’re going to find out is that there’s more evidence that Epstein was doing a lot of stuff with Democrats than he was doing anything with Donald Trump. So Democrats want people to think this is a Trump story. We may find out it’s a Democrat story sooner,” Jennings added.
Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin downplayed concerns over Plaskett communicating with Epstein during a 2019 hearing, insisting on the House floor that it amounted to nothing more than a routine conversation with a “constituent.”
He said Republicans had no clear ethical or legal basis for censure and suggested they send the matter to the House Ethics Committee if they want a full explanation.
The House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led effort to strip Plaskett of her prime spot on the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday evening, after a splinter group of Republicans joined Democrats to defeat the measure.