Commerce Secretary Lutnick Faces Congressional Scrutiny Over Epstein Ties Amidst White House Support
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Comer’s comments came ahead of Lutnick’s Wednesday testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as part of the committee’s investigation into Epstein. Lutnick, Epstein’s former neighbor in Manhattan, was mentioned in the Epstein files several times, but he has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has maintained that he has “barely had anything to do with” Epstein.
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The Daily WireDuring a Senate hearing in February, Lutnick confirmed he visited Epstein’s Little Saint James Island and said he was accompanied by his wife and four children, as well as another couple and their children. Lutnick told senators that he had lunch with Epstein on his island for around an hour while he was on vacation with his family. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s sex crimes.
The Guardian USLutnick agreed in March to sit for a transcribed interview with the committee following the justice department’s release of millions of documents related to Epstein, which included documents showing that Lutnick continued correspondence with Epstein after the disgraced financier had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. The session is part of the committee’s broader investigation into Epstein.
Associated PressLutnick has downplayed his ties to Epstein, who was once his neighbor in New York City. Under questioning from Democrats during an unrelated hearing earlier this year, he described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of meetings in 2011 and 2012.
Washington TimesLutnick has downplayed his ties to Epstein, who was once his neighbor in New York City. Under questioning from Democrats during an unrelated hearing earlier this year, he described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of meetings in 2011 and 2012.
NPR NewsLawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for Lutnick's resignation, accusing him of mischaracterizing his ties to Epstein. Lutnick has said he has "nothing to hide" regarding that relationship, and agreed in March to appear voluntarily for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee.
Fox NewsHowever, Epstein files that were released this year showed that Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein extended well beyond that. The Commerce secretary told the House panel that his short visit to Epstein’s island was "unsettling" because he did not know how Epstein’s assistant knew that he and his family were vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands at the time.
The HillHouse Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters ahead of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s testimony before the panel that Lutnick had not been “100% truthful” about whether he had been on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s island. Lutnick is appearing before the Oversight panel on Wednesday for a closed-door transcribed interview as part…
PBS NewsHourRep. James Comer told reporters as he entered the closed-door interview that Lutnick had in the past not been "100% truthful" about whether he had ever visited Epstein's infamous private island.
New York PostWASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a congressional committee Wednesday that a lunch invitation from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on his private Caribbean island was “unsettling” — but that didn’t stop Lutnick from traveling there with his wife and kids in 2012.
HuffPostThat visit took place three years before Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. However, emails released by the Justice Department show that Lutnick and Epstein continued to communicate sporadically in the years after Epstein’s conviction. In February, Lutnick admitted to having traveled to Epstein’s private island with his wife and kids in 2012.
New York TimesThe commerce secretary appeared for hours in a closed-door session on Wednesday with the House Oversight Committee
ReutersLutnick testifies he can't recall why his family lunched on Epstein's island Reuters
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“Well, now we know why that interview was not videotaped,” Khanna said. “If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick. It was really embarrassing.”
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NPR News"Now we know why that interview was not videotaped," Khanna said. "If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would've fired Howard Lutnick."
Fox News"If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., insisted. "He's lost all credibility, and really it's a shame that the American people don't get to see what he did there — total lack of truth and lack of honesty."
The HillDemocratic Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) said President Trump would fire his Commerce secretary if he heard the testimony that he provided Congress on Wednesday about his relationship to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick,” Khanna told reporters following the closed-door briefing.  “It…
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The Commerce Department said in a statement prior to the hearing that Lutnick, who volunteered to face the committee's scrutiny, looked forward to "putting to rest the inaccurate and baseless claims in the media."
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The Guardian US“The Secretary looks forward to addressing any questions on the record when he testifies voluntarily before the Oversight Committee,” a commerce department spokesperson said. “He looks forward to putting to rest the inaccurate and baseless claims in the media designed to distract from his historic work underway at the Commerce Department.”
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Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters in February that Lutnick “remains a very important member” of the president’s team, and said that the president “fully supports” Lutnick.
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NPR NewsWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in February that "Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump's team, and the president fully supports the secretary."
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Several Democrats have called for Lutnick to resign, and a few Republicans, including Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have said he should at least testify before the Oversight panel.
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Associated PressSeveral Democrats have called for Lutnick to resign, and a few Republicans, including Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, have said he should at least testify before the Oversight panel.
Fox NewsThe Trump administration has largely stood by Lutnick amid calls for his resignation from Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
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The commerce secretary has been accused of repeatedly changing his account of and lying about his yearslong ties to the late sex offender.
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The Daily WireThe Commerce secretary has been ripped by Democrats and some Republicans who expressed concern about his previous storyline.
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Still, the transcribed interview presented a test of how much scrutiny lawmakers will apply to powerful men who kept company with Epstein even after it was known that he had solicited prostitution from an underage girl. Trump’s Republican administration has tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to move past the issue.
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Associated PressStill, the transcribed interview presented a test of how much scrutiny lawmakers will apply to powerful men who kept company with Epstein even after it was known that he had solicited prostitution from an underage girl. Trump’s Republican administration has tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to move past the issue.
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The White House has continued to express support for Lutnick, who was one of the biggest boosters of Trump’s sweeping tariffs strategy. He has been close to Trump for years and helped fundraise for his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.
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Associated PressThe White House has continued to express support for Lutnick, who was one of the biggest boosters of Trump’s sweeping tariffs strategy. He has been close to Trump for years and helped fundraise for his 2020 and 2024 campaigns.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of Jeffrey Epstein at https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein.
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Associated PressFollow the AP’s coverage of Jeffrey Epstein at https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein.
8 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 NPR News "He's been very forthcoming with those interactions," Comer said. "We're bringing in some of the richest and most powerful people in the world. We're doing everything in our ability to get answers." he added.
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02 Washington Examiner “He was on the island with his family, with his wife and kids, six people in his family and six people in his French family for lunch for two hours, and he has admitted that,” Comer continued.
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03 Fox News "I feel very comfortable saying that Howard Lutnick is a pathological liar," Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., said when she left the room in the middle of the Capitol Hill testimony to give reporters an update.
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04 HuffPost Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) expressed the same sentiment during a news conference after the closed-door hearing.
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05 New York Post But Lutnick backtracked again from his sweeping claims, first made on The Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast in October, that Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever” who traded the feds videos of prominent individuals implicated in crimes in exchange for his plea deal a decade before.
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06 Washington Times Later, additional meetings between the two men were revealed in the trove of documents known as the Epstein files, sparking claims of a cover-up.
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07 The Daily Wire Comer added that the Oversight Committee would ask Lutnick more questions about his visit to Little Saint James.
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08 The Guardian US The interview on Wednesday will take place behind closed doors, with a transcript released at a later date, as the committee has done with the previous transcribed interviews.
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Sources (13)
- ap
- reuters
- foxnews
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- guardian
- nyt
- dailywire
- huffpost
- washexaminer
- nypost
- pbs
- thehill
- npr