Howard Lutnick, Trump's Secretary of Commerce, sat before the House Oversight Committee for nearly four hours on Wednesday. He had a lot to explain.
The Vow He Couldn't Keep
In 2005, Lutnick and his wife toured Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan mansion. What they found stopped them: a massage table at the center of the room, surrounded by candles. Epstein got "weirdly close" and told Lutnick he received massages "every day" from "the right kind of massage."
Lutnick later told a podcast he decided after that visit he would "never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again, socially, for business, or even philanthropy." He described Epstein as "gross."
That vow did not hold.
Three More Times
In 2011, Lutnick met with Epstein again to discuss scaffolding and home renovations affecting their adjacent Manhattan properties. In 2012, he, his wife, and their four young children sailed to Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St. James, for a one-hour lunch. That trip came three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor. In 2018, the year before Epstein's death in federal custody, Lutnick was still exchanging emails with him about a planned museum expansion near their homes.
https://x.com/OversightDems/status/2042309306716913849
"Howard Lutnick lied about the extent of his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein. The two men were in business together and he visited Epstein's island. Lutnick has no business being a cabinet secretary.", House Oversight Democrats
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The $10 House
Lutnick has also never fully explained one property transaction buried in the Epstein files. FBI documents show that Lutnick purchased his home at 11 East 71st Street, directly adjacent to Epstein's notorious Manhattan townhouse, through a trust, for $10. A multimillion-dollar property. Ten dollars. That transaction has never been explained by Lutnick or the Commerce Department.
What He Said in Congress
Wednesday's closed-door, transcribed interview was the first time any Trump Cabinet secretary in the second administration sat for this kind of questioning on the Epstein files. Nearly four hours in a closed room.
Oversight Committee chairman, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, called Lutnick "forthcoming." Comer also acknowledged separately that Lutnick was not "100 percent truthful" about his Epstein ties. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna accused Lutnick of "changing his story" as new facts have emerged. Multiple Democrats said Lutnick could not give a straight answer about why he visited Epstein's island in 2012 after vowing to stay away. Democrats on the committee called on Lutnick to resign.
The Verdict
Lutnick purchased a house next door to a convicted sex offender for $10. He kept meeting with that person across a decade after vowing to never see him again. He took his children to the man's private island. He was still emailing Epstein nine years into Epstein's criminal history. Then he gave Congress four hours of carefully worded non-answers. The story keeps changing because the facts keep surfacing. The committee is just getting started.
Sources
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Lutnick faces lawmakers' questions for more than 4 hours over past Epstein ties, CNN
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Lutnick's testimony in Epstein probe earns harsh criticism from House Democrats, CBS News
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Howard Lutnick evasive during Epstein testimony, House Democrats say, NBC News
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Lutnick testifies before congressional panel investigating Epstein, Washington Post
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Lutnick tells Congress he avoided Epstein after spotting massage table, Washington Times
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House Oversight Democrats on X: Lutnick lied about Epstein involvement
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