Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged under questioning on Tuesday that he met Jeffrey Epstein twice after the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child, reversing a previous claim that he had cut ties with Epstein after 2005.
Appearing before a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Lutnick downplayed the relationship, describing their interactions as limited to a handful of emails and two meetings years apart. Epstein, who later died in jail, had once been Lutnick’s neighbor in New York City.
“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him,” Lutnick told lawmakers.
The acknowledgement has intensified scrutiny around the Cabinet official, making him the highest-profile U.S. official to face bipartisan calls for resignation following the release of case files related to Epstein.
Admission Contradicts Earlier Statements
The renewed controversy stems from contradictions between Lutnick’s prior public statements and the details now emerging from the so-called Epstein files.
On a podcast last year, Lutnick had claimed he decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein again after a 2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed him and his wife. However, he told senators on Tuesday that he and his family had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 and that he had another hour-long engagement at Epstein’s home in 2011.
The release of case files contradicting his earlier statements has led to mounting criticism from lawmakers in both parties. While countries like the United Kingdom have seen resignations and the stripping of royal privileges in response to similar revelations tied to Epstein, U.S. officials have so far not faced the same level of consequences.
Despite the backlash, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Lutnick “remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary.”
Senators Press for Accountability
During Tuesday’s hearing, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., directly challenged Lutnick over the discrepancies.
“There’s not an indication that you yourself engaged in any wrongdoing with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s the fact that you believe that you misled the country and the Congress based on your earlier statements,” Van Hollen told him.
Van Hollen stopped short of calling for Lutnick’s resignation but requested documentation of his ties to Epstein.
“It’s absolutely essential that he provide Congress with those documents, given the misrepresentations he’s made, and then we’ll go from there,” he said.
Lutnick responded that he would consider the request, adding, “I have nothing to hide.”
Several Senate Republicans also raised concerns. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the visit to Epstein’s private island “would raise questions.” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters, “It’s something I’m concerned with.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune did not name Lutnick directly but said those referenced in the Epstein files are “going to have to answer questions around that.”
“I think the American people are going to have to make judgments about whether or not they think those answers are sufficient,” Thune added.
Tillis refrained from calling for Lutnick’s resignation but said “he would do himself a service by just laying out exactly what did and what did not happen over the course of what seems to be an interesting relationship that included business entanglements.”
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House Lawmakers Call for Resignation
In the House, calls for Lutnick to step down have grown louder. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky urged Lutnick’s resignation over the weekend after emails were released alluding to the meetings.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., joined Massie in pressing Lutnick to leave office.
“Based on the evidence, he should be out of the Cabinet,” Khanna said.
He added, “It’s not about any particular person. In this country, we have to make a decision. Are we going to allow the rich and powerful people who are friends and (had) no problem doing business and showing up with a pedophile who is raping underage girls, are we just going to allow them to skate?”
As scrutiny intensifies, lawmakers across party lines are signaling that further questions, and possible consequences, may lie ahead.
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