Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who previously claimed that he cut all ties with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005, admitted to lawmakers Tuesday that he visited Epstein's private island with his family in 2012. "I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation, my wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies," he said, per Bloomberg. "We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour," Lutnick said. "And we left with all of my children, and my nannies and my wife all together." He told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that nothing improper occurred and insisted he had "no relationship" with Epstein.
Lutnick, Epstein's former neighbor, told the New York Post last fall that after Epstein made a lewd remark while showing him his apartment in 2005, he vowed to "never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again." But, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Tuesday, "the files show that you had interactions with Epstein over the next 13 years, including long after he was convicted in 2008 of soliciting the prostitution of a minor." Recently released files show Lutnick and Epstein were co-investors in a company as late as 2014. Lutnick told senators he had met Epstein "three times over 14 years," adding, "I have done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard," NBC News reports.
Lutnick has not been accused of criminal conduct, but Democrats are calling for him to resign over his Epstein links. On Sunday, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie also called for him to step down, saying, "If this were Great Britain, he'd already be gone," the Guardian reports. On Tuesday, Van Hollen told Lutnick the issue isn't that he engaged in wrongdoing connected to Epstein, "but that you totally misrepresented the extent of your relationship with him to the Congress, to the American people, and to the survivors of his despicable criminal and predatory acts."
Some Senate Republicans also questioned Lutnick's relationship with Epstein, with Sen. Thom Tillis saying the island visit is "something I'm concerned with," the AP reports. The White House, however, is standing by him. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that he "remains a very important member of President Trump's team, and the president fully supports the secretary." The Hill reports that Leavitt went on to list "wins in the news this week" for the administration.
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