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Stacey Plaskett
Official portrait, 2015
Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the U.S. Virgin Islands' at-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Donna Christian-Christensen
Personal details
Born	Stacey Elizabeth Plaskett (1966-05-13) May 13, 1966 (age 58) New York City, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (2008–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (until 2008)
Spouse	Jonathan Buckney Small
Children	5
Residence(s)	Washington, D.C., Frederiksted
Education	Georgetown University (BSFS) American University (JD)
Signature
Website	House website
Stacey Plaskett's voice Stacey Plaskett speaks on Virgin Island History Month Recorded March 16, 2022

Stacey Elizabeth Plaskett (/ˈplæskɪt/; born May 13, 1966) is an American politician and attorney. She is a non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands' (USVI) at-large congressional district, since 2015. Plaskett has practiced law in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Prior to 2008, Plaskett was a member of the Republican Party, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve in the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice. She switched to the Democratic Party in late 2008 because she believed it was a better place to have new ideas heard. She served as a House manager (prosecutor) during the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the first non-voting member of the House of Representatives to do so.

Early life and education

Plaskett was born on May 13, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in the Bushwick housing projects. Her parents are both from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Her father was a New York City Police Department officer and her mother a clerk in the court system. Her family regularly traveled to Saint Croix during her childhood, so she became familiar with island traditions and culture. Her parents' home in New York was often home for students and other recent migrants moving to the mainland from the Virgin Islands. She attended Brooklyn Friends School (a Quaker school) and Grace Lutheran Elementary. She was recruited by A Better Chance, Inc. a non-profit organization recruiting minority students to selective secondary schools. She was a boarding student at Choate Rosemary Hall, where she was a varsity athlete and served as class president for several years.

Plaskett spent a term abroad in France during her enrollment at Choate. She often states that Choate awakened her commitment to public service and a deep sense of responsibility to others through the biblical verse "to whom much is given; much is required". She was one of few black students while she attended the school. In 1988, she graduated with a degree in history and diplomacy from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Plaskett ran for student government at Georgetown under a progressive student ticket and was very active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement. As a student she spoke on behalf of universities in the DC area at the General Assembly of the United Nations. She received her J.D. degree from the American University Washington College of Law in 1994. She attended law school at night while she worked full-time during the day with the lobbying arm of the American Medical Association and then with the law firm Jones Day. In law school she studied constitutional law under her future colleague, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland.

Career

After graduating from law school, Plaskett accepted a position as a assistant district attorney in the Bronx, New York, under Robert T. Johnson. She prosecuted several hundred cases, including in the Narcotics Bureau. She then worked as a consultant and legal counsel focused on internal corporate investigations and strategy for the Mitchell Madison Group. She moved to Washington, D.C., and worked as counsel on the Republican-led US House of Representatives, Committee on Standards of Official Conduct; now known as the House Committee on Ethics or simply the Ethics Committee. She left the Committee when she was asked by mentor and fellow trustee at Choate, Robert McCallum to work at the United States Department of Justice as a political appointee of then-President George W. Bush.

Plaskett accepted the offer and served as counsel for the assistant attorney general for the DOJ Civil Division, and also as acting deputy assistant attorney general for the Torts Branch in the Civil Division. She then joined the staff of Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, primarily working on the Justice Honors program and an initiative to increase the number of minority and women attorneys at the Justice Department. While in the Justice Civil Division, she also worked on the Terrorism Litigation Task Force, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and United States v. Philip Morris, the case against several major tobacco companies for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by engaging in a conspiracy to deceive the public about the health effects of smoking.

After Larry Thompson resigned, Plaskett joined the staff of his successor James Comey. She later left government service to become a deputy general counsel at UnitedHealth Group. There, she worked in the Americhoice division, handling legal work related to Medicaid and Medicare programs. She then moved to the Virgin Islands, where she worked in private practice and from 2007 to 2014 served as general counsel for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority, charged with the economic development of the U.S. territory.

Plaskett switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in late-2008. She was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 2019.

During a 2023 MSNBC interview, Plaskett stated that Donald Trump "needs to be shot" before correcting herself and stating that he needs to be stopped. This resulted in several conservative commentators calling for her resignation.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2012

In 2012, Plaskett challenged nine-term delegate Donna Christian-Christensen in the Democratic Party primary. Plaskett was unsuccessful, receiving 42.49% of the vote to Christian-Christensen's 57.48%.

2014

In 2014, Plaskett ran for the office again, after formally declaring her candidacy in November 2013. In the Democratic Primary held on August 2, she faced Shawn-Micheal Malone, a Virgin Islands Senator, and Senate President, and Emmett Hansen, a former Virgin Islands Senator and former chair of the Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands. She received 50.4% of the vote to Malone's 41.61% and Hansen's 7.92%. She later faced Republican Vince Danet in the General Election held on November 4. She received over 90% of the vote.

2016

Plaskett was challenged in the Democratic Party Primary by former Virgin Islands Senator Ronald Russell. She defeated Russell in the primary with 85.48% of the vote to his 14.04%. In the general election, she faced Republican Gordon Ackley, an Air Force veteran and business owner, who ran as a write-in candidate. She won the election in a landslide, garnering almost 98% of the vote.

2018

Plaskett won re-election unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election.

2020

Plaskett won re-election, defeating independent candidate Shekema George with 88.09% of the vote.

Impeachment manager

On January 12, 2021, Plaskett was named as a House impeachment manager for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump in response to the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. During the trial on February 10, 2021, she was introduced by lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin of Maryland, her former constitutional law professor, who said she was "an 'A' student then and she is an 'A+' student now".

Weaponization Subcommittee

On February 2, 2023, Plaskett was appointed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the Ranking Member of the United States House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Plaskett has criticized multiple decisions made by the Republican Majority, stating in her opening statement of the select subcommittee's first hearing "I'm deeply concerned about the use of the select subcommittee as a place to settle scores, showcase conspiracy theories and advance an extreme agenda that risks undermining Americans' faith in our democracy." On March 2, 2023, Plaskett along with Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler released a staff report titled GOP Witnesses: What Their Disclosures Indicate About The State Of The Republican Investigations, in which, they criticized three alleged whistleblowers (George Hill, Garret O’Boyle, and Stephen Friend) who had transcribed interviews with the Select Subcommittee. This document claims that the three have been the only ones who have been transcribed out of "dozens and dozens of whistleblowers" who have had previous discussions with House Judiciary Republicans. In the 315 paged report, Subcommittee Democrats doubt the credibility of the 3 whistleblowers, stating that they are heavily MAGA biased and had no evidence of actual FBI misconduct.

On April 13, 2023, Plaskett sent a letter to journalist Matt Taibbi threatening him with prison time alleging that Taibbi lied under oath by intentionally confusing the acronyms of the Center for Internet Security and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on a tweet published by Taibbi as part of the Twitter Files entry No. 6. Plaskett's letter was criticized by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and Demand Progress as an attempt to intimidate Tabbi and other journalists involved with the Twitter Files.

Donations from Jeffrey Epstein

Plaskett met convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein multiple times during her political career, having been first introduced by Epstein's lawyer, Erika Kellerhals, with whom Plaskett previously worked. Email records and deposition transcripts showed that Plaskett's campaign solicited donations from Epstein in support of her reelection campaign. Epstein is reported to have personally donated the maximum of $5,400 to each of Plaskett's campaigns in 2016 and 2018; she also received other contributions from associates of Epstein. After receiving criticism in 2019 when Epstein was arrested for new sex crimes, Plaskett was the first politician to announce she would give away Epstein's political donations, stating the funds would benefit The Women’s Coalition and The Family Resource Center.

Committee assignments

118th Congress

• House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on National Intelligence Enterprise (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture
• House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization (Ranking Member)

117th Congress

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Oversight
  • Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures

Past memberships

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Nutrition
  • Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Government Operations
  • Subcommittee on Interior

Caucus memberships

• New Democrat Coalition (Leadership Member)
• Congressional Black Caucus
• Climate Solutions Caucus

Personal life

Plaskett is married to Jonathan Buckney Small, a community activist and former professional tennis player. She has five children, four of them with Andre Duffy, her previous husband. She has served on numerous non-profit boards focused primarily on education, culture, and community development. Plaskett is Lutheran.

See also

• List of African-American United States representatives
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

1. "Stacey Elizabeth Plaskett-Duffy Profile | Washington, DC Lawyer". www.martindale.com.
2. "Stacey Plaskett". Retrieved January 18, 2021.
3. ^ "Archives of Women's Political Communication". Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. Iowa State University. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
4. ^ "Stacey Plaskett Running for Delegate". St. Croix Source. November 23, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
5. Neumann, Sean (February 11, 2021). "How Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett Made History Arguing for Donald Trump's Impeachment". PEOPLE.com. People magazine. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
6. "Representative Stacey E. Plaskett (1966 - )". congress.gov.
7. ^ McDonough, Annie (March 9, 2021). "Del. Stacey Plaskett is a New Yorker at heart". City & State New York. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
8. ^ Nielsen, E. (February 10, 2019). "Stacey E. Plaskett (1966- )". BlackPast. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
9. ^ "Candidate - Stacey E. Plaskett". Our Campaigns. December 29, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
10. "Stacey Plaskett (F'88) Honored with Samuel A. Halsey Jr. Award". Georgetown University. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
11. ^ Leonard, Ben (February 10, 2021). "Raskin introduces former law student as impeachment manager". POLITICO. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
12. ^ "Delegate Stacey Plaskett". Legistorm. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
13. Thompson, Larry D. (May 6, 2003). "Department of Justice Diversity Initiatives" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
14. "Biography". Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
15. "Stacey Plaskett". Ballotpedia - The Encyclopedia of American Politics. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
16. "CONGRESSWOMAN STACEY E. PLASKETT INITIATED INTO DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INCORPORATED". Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett. April 26, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
17. Patrick, Holly (June 19, 2023). "Democratic lawmaker Stacey Plaskett accidentally says Trump 'needs to be shot' in slip-up on live TV". The Independent. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
18. "Democrat slammed after accidentally saying Trump 'needs to be shot' before quickly correcting herself".
19. "SUMMARY REPORT USVI PRIMARY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS". Vivote.gov. August 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 11, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
20. Lewin, Aldeth. "Stacey Plaskett Wins Race for Delegate to Congress". virginislandsdailynews.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
22. "Virgin Islands 2016 General Election". www.thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
23. "Summary report. Unofficial results". vivote.gov. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
24. "13 GU Alumni Seek Congressional Seats". The Hoya. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
25. "Territorial Election Summary Results Report USVI General Election" (PDF). Election System of the Virgin Islands. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
26. "Pelosi Names Impeachment Managers". speaker.gov. January 12, 2021.
27. "Plaskett Appointed as Ranking Member to House Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government". February 2, 2023.
28. Schapitl, Lexie; Grisales, Claudia (February 9, 2023). "House panel on 'weaponization' of the government's first hearing takes aim at DOJ, FBI". NPR. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023.
29. According to the FBI, O’Boyle "was suspended by the bureau because internal investigators had concluded that he leaked sensitive investigative information to the right-wing group Project Veritas". See Nobles, Ryan (June 8, 2023). "FBI agent who testified for Republicans was suspended over leaked sensitive information". NBC News. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
30. ^ "House Democrat Threatens Twitter Files Journalist with Prosecution and Imprisonment". April 20, 2023.
31. ^ "House Democrat Worked for Epstein's Tax and Political Fixer". June 27, 2023.
32. ^ "'Maximum amounts allowed': How Jeffrey Epstein's political donations won him and his 'pedophile island' a powerful ally". June 28, 2023.
33. Schwartz, Brian (July 9, 2019). "Democratic congresswoman from Virgin Islands reverses course, will donate campaign contributions from accused child molester Jeffrey Epstein". CNBC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
34. "Member Profiles/Stacey E. Plaskett". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
35. "Members". New Democrat Coalition. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
36. "Membership". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
37. "Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
38. "National Religious Partnership for the Environment - Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI-01)". www.congressweb.com. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
39. "Public Invited To Plaskett Ceremonial Swearing-In, Service of Blessing". Retrieved November 12, 2022.
40. Mitchell, Travis (January 3, 2019). "Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 116th Congress". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Retrieved November 12, 2022.

External links

• Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett official U.S. House website
• Plaskett for Congress campaign website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN

v t e Political officials of the United States Virgin Islands
U.S. House	Stacey Plaskett, Delegate
Executive government	Albert Bryan, Governor Tregenza Roach, Lieutenant Governor Gordon C. Rhea, Attorney General (appointed) Kevin McCurdy, Finance Commissioner (appointed)
Legislature	Novelle Francis, President Marvin Blyden, Vice President Kenny Gittens, Majority Leader Vacant, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Rhys Hodge, Chief Justice Maria Cabret Ive Swan Harold Willocks 1 vacant, Associate Justices

v t e Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands
de Lugo Evans de Lugo Frazer Christian-Christensen Plaskett

• 1966 births
• 21st-century American politicians
• 21st-century American women politicians
• African-American lawyers
• African-American members of the United States House of Representatives
• African-American people in United States Virgin Island politics
• African-American women in politics
• African-American women lawyers
• American women lawyers
• Choate Rosemary Hall alumni
• Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands
• Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians
• Female members of the United States House of Representatives
• Georgetown University alumni
• Living people
• Politicians from Brooklyn
• United States Virgin Islands lawyers
• United States Virgin Islands women in politics
• Washington College of Law alumni
• Brooklyn Friends School alumni
• People from Bushwick, Brooklyn
• American people of United States Virgin Islands descent
• 21st-century African-American women
• 21st-century African-American politicians
• 20th-century African-American people
• 20th-century African-American women