Virgin Island delegate makes history at US
U.S. House impeachment manager and Delegate from the
Virgin Islands Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) delivers part of the impeachment
managers’ opening argument in the impeach-
Caribbean Life, February 19-25, 2021 11
Rabid Republicans were
forced to listen to Caribbean
Delegate, Stacey Plaskett, a
St. Croix native and a House
impeachment manager tasked
with prosecuting former President
Donald J. Trump accused
with inciting a raucous insurrection
at the US Capitol that
resulted in the death of five
Americans; and more than 140
injured Capitol Police Officers
who tried to defend the institution
and the legislators barricaded
inside.
Although Rep. Plaskett does
not have a vote in Congress, she
made history arguing a charge
for conviction of the leader of
the Republican Party.
“You’ll see that this violent
attack was not planned
in secret,” Plaskett said, “The
insurgents believed they were
doing the duty of their president.
They were following his
orders.”
The US Virgin Island representative
referenced the 45th
president to being the “inciter
in chief” and repeatedly asserted
that his actions proved his
guilt in committing “high
crimes of misdemeanors.”
She said his attempt to stop
certification of the Nov. 3 elections
and his persistence in
denying the outcome incited
his supporters to storm the
sacred seat of Democracy.
Those actions she said merit a
conviction with penalty of disqualification
from ever holding
elected office.
Del. Plaskett said as a member
of the House of the Representatives
and spokesperson
for the territory of the Virgin
Islands it was her duty to
“speak truth to power.”
“I’ve learned that as a young
Black girl growing up in the
projects of Brooklyn, a housing
community in St. Croix,
sent to the most un-likeliest of
settings and now as an adult
woman representing an island
territory speaking to the US
Senate.”
The nightmare of another
perceived toxic, Black, female
named Stacey unleashing a
litany of damning evidence
against the former president
must have felt uncomfortable
for members of the GOP hellbent
on acquitting the leader of
the Republican Party.
Her accusations seemed to
fall on at least 43 pairs of deaf
ears.
However, throughout the
four-day trial, and despite
alleged exhibitions of disinterest
from a majority of Republicans,
the four-term Caribbean
congresswoman persevered in
delivering blistering condemnation
of the impeachable act.
To her credit, she first litigated
cases in the Bronx as an
assistant district attorney.
Later she served as senior
counsel in the US Department
of Justice.
Last week, not only did her
legal prosecution style resonate
with jurors, but her fashionable
choice of a blue outfit caught
the attention of social media
influencers. Viral posts dubbed
Plaskett ‘superwoman.’
In addition to lauding her
clear, concise and compelling
arguments they punctuated
their comments by plastering
the worldwide web with photoshopped,
accessorized images
of the letter “S” emblazoned
on her outfit in parody of the
comic caped-crusader who
fought to attain “truth, justice
and the American way.”
The stakes were high, Plaskett’s
team needed a two-thirds
majority in order to convict the
Florida-based ‘private citizen.’
The two-thirds majority
proved unattainable.
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
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