Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin (left) quickly clapped back after Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, inaccurately claimed he has received campaign donations from disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. (Left: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Right: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
"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 Digital following Crockett's floor remarks. Crockett has indicated that she will decide in the next few weeks by the Dec. 8 filing deadline whether she will indeed throw her hat in the ring to challenge Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
"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 continued.
Meanwhile, Republicans did not hold back on their criticism of Crockett.
"Crockett should get censured for this and staff should be fired," GOP strategist Matt Whitlock posted on X. "What a shocking embarrassment to go to the floor with this kind of insane accusation, and have the WRONG JEFFREY EPSTEIN."
"Crockett getting this so badly wrong is I guess why politicians usually outsource their oppo research to the professionals," Chuck Ross, a Washington Free Beacon investigative reporter, wrote on X. "But you also would expect a member of Congress to know more about FEC filings."
"Jasmine Crockett completely misrepresented, indeed outright lied, about various GOP politicians' potential past donor relationships with Epstein," former New York GOP Congresswoman Nan Hayworth said.
Zeldin himself was also quick to clap back about the inaccuracy, noting the person he received campaign donations from was a physician also named "Jeffrey Epstein."
HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS BID TO CENSURE DEMOCRAT OVER EPSTEIN LINKS GOES DOWN IN FLAMES
"NO [clapping emoji] FREAKIN [clapping emoji] RELATION [clapping emoji] YOU [clapping emoji] GENIUS!!!"
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida on February 22, 1997. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
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During an interview on CNN, Crockett attempted to claim Republicans redacted important information from documents about Epstein's crimes. However, the hosts of the segment were forced to jump in and correct the record, telling Crockett that it was actually Democrats who decided to black out the name of one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre, who did not accuse President Trump of any wrongdoing.
"Her recitation of the facts is simply, that, ‘I’m not going to trust Republicans. They probably made that up. And, by the way, we would never redact the name of somebody who is deceased anyway,'" conservative radio host Vince Coglianese said of Crockett's CNN debacle. "Jasmine Crockett was trying to – literally, on the spot – come up with a conspiracy theory in order to defend the callous and disgraceful behavior of Democrats. Where have we seen this before? Well, I don't know, every Democrat made-up scandal about Donald Trump we've seen ever. They're constantly trying to defame him. It's the wrap-up smear constantly delivered over, and over, and over again."
Fox News Digital Reached out to Crockett for comment but did not receive a response.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/social-media-erupts-after-far-left-firebrand-botches-epstein-claim-insane-accusation