'Worst Candidate Possible': Jasmine Crockett Excoriated After Embarrassing 'Jeffrey Epstein' Gaffe

Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett managed to do the impossible this week: turn a scandal engulfing her own party into a humiliating self-own.

Democrats have been scrambling for cover ever since the Epstein files were effectively released, revealing that Del. Stacey Plaskett — the non-voting House member from the U.S. Virgin Islands — exchanged text messages with Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 hearing examining President Donald Trump’s alleged conflicts of interest. The revelation ignited a political firestorm, with Republicans demanding answers and Democrats rushing to downplay the explosive disclosure.

Enter Jasmine Crockett — whose attempt to rescue Plaskett only amplified the embarrassment.

In a dramatic floor speech, Crockett bragged that her team combed through Federal Election Commission records in search of Republican ties to Epstein. What she triumphantly announced instead was a bombshell that blew up right in her face.

Crockett claimed she had uncovered proof that Lee Zeldin — now President Trump’s EPA administrator — accepted campaign contributions from “Jeffrey Epstein” while serving in Congress.

There was just one problem.

It was the wrong Jeffrey Epstein.

Zeldin’s donor was a physician, not the infamous sex offender who died in 2019 after being charged with running an underage sex-trafficking network. In fact, as investigative reporter Chuck Ross noted, Crockett’s “gotcha” donor gave money to Zeldin after the disgraced financier was already dead.

Ross took to X to highlight the absurdity of the blunder:

“Crockett getting this so badly wrong is I guess why politicians usually outsource their oppo research to the professionals,” Ross posted. “But you also would expect a member of Congress to know more about FEC filings.”

Political pundit Jonathan Turley, meanwhile, opted to just poke fun at Crockett.

Zeldin himself also responded to Crockett’s wildly misleading claims.

“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 posted. “NO. FREAKIN. RELATION. YOU. GENIUS!!!”

And yet, the most scathing remarks about Crockett’s blunder came from her own side.

“If you’re looking for a good way to light $50 million on fire and lose by 15 points, then Jasmine Crockett is your candidate,” a Democratic strategist told Fox News after Crockett’s floor remarks.

The Democrat strategist then spoke up about Crockett’s seeming plans to challenge Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn for his seat.

“She’s got no shot to win that Texas Senate race, and screw-ups like this show why she’s probably the worst candidate possible,” the Democratic strategist said.