Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett strutted onto the House floor this week with a cheap, theatrical trick — name-dropping “somebody named Jeffrey Epstein” and implying a swampy web of Republican corruption without bothering to check the facts. Her laundry list of targets included prominent conservatives and GOP groups, and the allegation was immediately packaged by her allies as a gotcha. The stunt landed like a sloppy ambush aimed more at headlines than truth.
But the facts collapsed under the showmanship: Federal Election Commission records make clear the donations Crockett was rattling off were from entirely different men who happen to share a common name, including a New York physician identified in filings — donations that came long after the notorious Jeffrey Epstein’s death. This wasn’t a conspiracy connecting elected Republicans to a convicted sex-trafficker; it was sloppy research dressed up as a political grenade. Voters deserve better than name-based innuendo and lazy accusation.
When pressed, Crockett doubled down on cable TV, insisting she “never said that it was that Jeffrey Epstein” and blaming the rush of debate preparation and a quick Google search for the confusion. Former Rep. Lee Zeldin promptly corrected the record on social media, pointing out that the donor in question was a different Jeffrey Epstein and that the donation dates made clear there was no link to the disgraced financier. That exchange exposed a glaring truth: Democrats will gladly fling mud and then pretend their aim was forensic.
Make no mistake — this was not an innocent mistake. It was the latest example of Democrats weaponizing scandal by insinuation, banking on a compliant media to amplify the vague and terrifying whisper of a name. Conservatives shouldn’t cower when confronted with sloppy attacks, but neither should the public tolerate a political culture that values theatrics over accuracy. Accountability matters more than applause lines.
Americans tired of Washington’s games should see this for what it is: a partisan performance aimed at distracting from real issues while sullying reputations with the faintest possible scent of scandal. If Democrats want to credibly police ethics and associations, they should start by doing the work — not inventing narratives and then pretending they’re victims when the facts come out. The voters will remember who trades in cheap theater and who stands for truth and responsibility.
