Donald Trump’s administration secretary of commerce, Howard Lutnick, is set to testify before the House Oversight Committee about his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, the panel’s chairman said. Howard Lutnick’s decision to agree to testify in the Epstein case comes days after several media reports shared a picture of Epstein and Lutnick on Epstein Island. Reports claimed the Justice Department had redacted the image from the website, prompting calls for him to join the testimony.
Howard Lutnick said in a statement: “I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight.”
Rep. James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, said in response to his upcoming testimony, “I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the committee. I look forward to his testimony.”
Why Lutnick for Epstein’s testimony?
Lutnick recently faced criticism after Justice Department documents revealed former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO visited Epstein’s island in 2012, years after Epstein was convicted of procuring minors for prostitution. Also read | Epstein Files: Who were the two women in Stephen Hawking’s photo? The scientist’s family reveals
The documents also included a picture of Epstein, Lutnick and the three men standing on an ocean cliff. Another email addressed to Epstein included the resume of Lutnick’s nanny, although the Commerce Secretary denied providing the document himself.
While public records do not indicate that Howard Lutnick did anything wrong, they do show that he previously mischaracterized the extent of his relationship with Epstein. Also read | Howard Lutnick admits he “had lunch with Epstein on a private island”; US lawmakers are calling for his resignation
In an interview with the New York Post podcast last year, the commerce secretary said he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 after the financier made claims about massages during a search of his home. “So I’ve never been in the room with him socially, for business or even philanthropy,” he said.
He recently testified that his visit to Epstein Island involved nothing inappropriate.
“We had lunch on the island, that’s right, for an hour and we left with all my children, with the nannies and the wife, all together. We were on a family vacation and we were not apart. To suggest that there was something inappropriate about it in 2012, I don’t remember why we did it, but we did it,” he said.
