Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is facing blowback after falsely suggesting a Trump administration official held nefarious ties to the late New York financier Jeffrey Epstein.
During a speech on the House floor earlier this week, Crockett said newly disclosed Federal Election Commission filings showed that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, a former congressman, had taken campaign donations from “somebody named Jeffrey Epstein.” However, the Epstein in question is a different person.
Zeldin and others in conservative circles denounced those words after an examination of FEC documents showed Crockett was mistaken. Two Jeffrey Epsteins did make donations to Zeldin, but the filings show they were dated after the convicted sex offender died in 2019.
“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 said Wednesday. “NO FREAKIN RELATION YOU GENIUS!!!”
Crockett responded to criticisms Wednesday evening, saying, “Listen, I never said that it was that Jeffrey Epstein.” She pointed the finger at Zeldin, placing the burden of justification on him.
“But when Lee Zeldin had something to say, all he had to say was, it was a different Jeffrey Epstein,” Crockett said during a CNN interview. “He admitted that he did receive donations from a Jeffrey Epstein. So, at least I wasn’t trying to mislead people.”
“Have I dug in to find out who this doctor is?” she added, referring to one of the donors named Jeffrey Epstein who gave $1,000 to Zeldin in 2020. “I have not, so I will trust and take what he says that it wasn’t that Jeffrey Epstein. But I was not attempting to mislead anybody.”
Zeldin blasted Crockett’s defense in a post to X late Wednesday evening, saying, “When you find yourself in a hole, it’s best to stop digging.”
“The public FEC report Crockett referenced on the House floor very clearly states that the Jeffrey Epstein who donated to my past campaign was a physician, and the donation date was well AFTER the other Jeffrey Epstein WAS ALREADY DEAD!!!” he said in response to Crockett’s CNN interview.
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
— Lee Zeldin (@LeeMZeldin) November 19, 2025
EVERY HOUSE REPUBLICAN, BAR ONE, VOTES TO RELEASE EPSTEIN FILES
Others piled on, with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) saying the debacle “is an embarrassment to [the House] at every level.”
“She is literally the perfect modern Democrat,” CNN conservative pundit Scott Jennings added. “Absolutely perfect. I hope everyone sees this. Just 10/10, no notes performance.”