Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admits to a 2012 lunch on Jeffrey Epstein’s island but denies a deeper relationship as calls for his resignation grow.
WASHINGTON: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted under oath to having lunch on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012.
He strenuously denied having any closer relationship with the late convicted sex offender.
The admission came during a Senate committee hearing amid growing calls for his resignation. Lutnick’s ties to Epstein have faced intense scrutiny since newly released files contradicted his earlier statements.
He had previously insisted he severed all links with Epstein in 2005. Email exchanges in the released documents undermined that claim.
“We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour,” Lutnick told the Senate Appropriations Committee. He stressed the visit was a family event during a vacation.
Lutnick said he was accompanied by his wife, children and nannies. He maintained he saw nothing untoward beyond staff and the other family present.
The private island, Little Saint James, is where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls. High-profile visits to the location have drawn widespread scrutiny.
“Over a 14-year period, I did not have any relationship with him,” Lutnick asserted to lawmakers. He referred to the time from 2005 when he was Epstein’s neighbour in New York.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said Lutnick has “no business being our Commerce Secretary”. He called for an immediate resignation on Monday.
Schiff argued the earlier denials raise “serious concerns about his judgment and ethics”. Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie also suggested Lutnick should resign.
House oversight committee Democrat Robert Garcia accused Lutnick of lying about the relationship. He cited evidence of interactions after 2005.
Released documents indicated the men became investors in a firm after the island visit. It is unclear if they personally engaged on the deal.
Communications through assistants on other occasions also appear in the records. Lutnick denied a separate alleged 2011 dinner at Epstein’s New York home.
He acknowledged documents indicated a planned meeting for that May. Lutnick was also questioned about Epstein’s interest in meeting his nanny.
“That had nothing to do with me,” he told the committee. Lutnick declared he has “nothing to hide, absolutely nothing”.
The White House has continued to support the commerce secretary. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump “fully supports” him.
She added Lutnick “remains a very important member” of the administration. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.
Lutnick is a close ally of Trump and former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. He became commerce secretary last year.