Democrat lawmakers accused Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick of misleading Congress and concealing information tied to Jeffrey Epstein following a contentious closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee intensified attacks against Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday after a closed-door deposition focused on his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with several lawmakers accusing Lutnick of dishonesty and demanding he resign from office.
The hours-long transcribed interview examined Lutnick’s interactions with Epstein, including his previously acknowledged 2012 visit to Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little Saint James, years after Epstein had already pleaded guilty to sex crime charges in Florida.
After leaving the deposition, Democratic members described Lutnick’s testimony as evasive and contradictory, claiming he failed to reconcile prior public statements about severing ties with Epstein.
Yassamin Ansari told reporters she believed Lutnick had lied repeatedly during questioning.
“After what we have seen so far in this transcribed interview, I feel very comfortable saying that Howard Lutnick is a pathological liar who is enabling the most egregious cover-up in American history,” Ansari said.
Suhas Subramanyam also called for Lutnick’s resignation following the interview.
“That was absolutely mind-boggling, what we just heard in the room,” Subramanyam said. “He was evasive, nervous; he was dishonest.”
Much of the questioning reportedly focused on Lutnick’s prior comments regarding Epstein. During a podcast appearance last year, Lutnick discussed visiting Epstein’s Manhattan residence in 2005 and claimed he was so disturbed by what he observed that he decided he would “never be in the room with that disgusting person, ever again.”
Subsequent records later surfaced indicating plans for Lutnick to travel to Epstein’s private island in 2012. Earlier this year, Lutnick acknowledged during a Senate hearing that he had visited the island with family members.
Ansari said lawmakers pressed Lutnick extensively about whether he remained aware of allegations surrounding Epstein after Epstein’s 2008 plea agreement involving sex crime charges.
Ro Khanna accused Lutnick of misleading the public and suggested the testimony raised broader concerns about whether information connected to Epstein’s activities was being concealed.
“Now we know why that interview was not videotaped,” Khanna said. “If President Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick.”
Khanna additionally claimed Lutnick appeared to distance himself from prior comments suggesting Epstein may have used videotapes and blackmail operations involving influential figures.
“This raises a question of what the cover-up is,” Khanna said.
Lutnick has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing, and Republicans on the committee have defended the investigation against allegations from Democrats that the inquiry is politically motivated or selectively focused.
The Commerce secretary agreed earlier this year to voluntarily testify before the committee after increased scrutiny surrounding his past association with Epstein.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to sex-related offenses under a controversial non-prosecution agreement that drew years of criticism from victims and prosecutors. He was later arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell while awaiting trial. His death was officially ruled a suicide.