{"id":177434,"date":"2026-02-24T03:52:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T03:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/177434\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T03:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T03:52:17","slug":"crockett-hits-talarico-over-epstein-linked-super-pac-donor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/177434\/","title":{"rendered":"Crockett hits Talarico over Epstein\u2011linked Super PAC donor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Updated Feb. 23, 2026, 10:42 a.m. MT<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett is taking aim at her leading Democratic primary opponent over a major Super PAC donor&#8217;s connection to Jeffrey Epstein, the late billionaire financier at the center of a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/opinion\/2019\/08\/14\/jeffrey-epstein-have-face-higher-judge-ouisa-davis\/2011604001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">massive child trafficking and sex abuse scandal<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Recent filings with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) show that Reid Hoffman, a billionaire AI investor, has contributed funds directly to state Rep. James Talarico&#8217;s Super PAC. Hoffman is listed in the Epstein files and visited Epstein properties, including the island where the worst atrocities are alleged to have taken place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Additionally, Hoffman contributed $3.7 million through a layered network of Super PACs, concealing the identity of associated donors, a news release from Crockett&#8217;s campaign stated.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:441px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/88788630007-2259271415.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, on Capitol Hill on Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington, DC.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cMy opponent claims that he will tax the rich and abolish Super PACs, yet he has welcomed and embraced these billionaires and their dark money support in the primary,&#8221; Crockett, D-Dallas, said in the release. &#8220;This is why people are so turned off with politicians. My opponent says one thing but does another. Texans deserve leaders who actually live their values in action.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;More importantly, Texans deserve transparency,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;If one of the individuals who donated publicly is someone in the Epstein files, imagine who else has given anonymously. Think about which other billionaires are dropping millions into this negative campaign against me and our movement.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">From her post in Congress, Crockett has been a leading voice in the effort to earn justice for Epstein survivors, even engaging in a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/02\/12\/crockett-bondi-clash-trump-epstein-files-video\/88647905007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">heated exchange with Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/a> during a hearing earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Talarico&#8217;s campaign has been built around getting big money out of politics \u2014 Crockett called on him to start by renouncing funding from &#8220;the Epstein Class.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>More: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/02\/20\/texas-senate-race-rep-crockett-ag-paxton-shift-dynamics-in-contests\/88781190007\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-t-l=\":b|e|spike click:11|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\">Texas Senate race: New poll shows Jasmine Crockett could beat Ken Paxton<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">\u201cIf James Talarico really means what he says, then he would denounce this Super PAC,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He\u2019d at least denounce the smear campaign, but at this point it is clear that he won\u2019t. A man that seemingly doesn\u2019t practice what he preaches. As we enter the last week of early voting, voters should follow the money and review the records.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;It seems like Mr. Talarico prefers to justify donations to himself either directly or indirectly so long as it benefits him,&#8221; Crockett continued, &#8220;just like never returning the almost ($60,000) he took from (President Donald) Trump\u2019s largest donor, Miriam Adelson, who wants Trump to have a third term.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Talarico&#8217;s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Colbert, Talarico interview<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;The Late Show with Stephen Colbert&#8221; aired on YouTube Monday, Feb. 16, amid pressure from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elpasotimes.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/02\/19\/texas-senate-race-talarico-gains-millions-as-paxton-pushes-primary-bid\/88757079007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Talarico raked in $2.5 million within 24 hours.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Watch the interview below.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em_vp_a gnt_em_vp__yt_a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oiTJ7Pz_59A?si=QCOBUhz1j-voz87Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-g-r=\"vp_tg\" aria-label=\"Play YouTube video\" data-v-t=\"video\"><img alt=\"\" class=\"gnt_em_vp_img gnt_em_vp_img__yn\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/oiTJ7Pz_59A\/maxresdefault.jpg\" onload=\"if(this.naturalWidth&lt;200){this.setAttribute('onload','this.classList.remove(\\'gnt_em_vp_img__yn\\')');this.src=\" https:=\"\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated Feb. 23, 2026, 10:42 a.m. MT U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett is taking aim at her leading Democratic&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[203,138,140,139,677,678,686,213,63895,687,68556,221,217,5584,220,23705,57646,534,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-177434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-el-paso","8":"tag-accessmetered","9":"tag-el-paso","10":"tag-el-paso-headlines","11":"tag-el-paso-news","12":"tag-sstsnewspoliticselections","13":"tag-sstsnelections","14":"tag-tagcampaigns-elections","15":"tag-tagdemocratic-party","16":"tag-tagfederal-election-commission","17":"tag-taggovernment","18":"tag-tagjeffrey-epstein","19":"tag-taglegislative-branch","20":"tag-tagoverall-negative","21":"tag-tagpam-bondi","22":"tag-tagpolitics","23":"tag-tagscandals-investigations","24":"tag-tagtexas-senate","25":"tag-tagviolence-abuse","26":"tag-typestory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}