House Democrats on Wednesday tore into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after his closed-door, transcribed interview before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, branding his testimony part of an “egregious cover-up” involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lutnick appeared before the panel as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Epstein’s network. Lawmakers had been pressing for his testimony since newly released files showed he had contact with Epstein more recently than he initially acknowledged, and after he admitted earlier this year to visiting Epstein’s private island in 2012. Lutnick had previously told senators he severed ties with Epstein after their first meeting in 2005.
Democrats: Lutnick’s Memory ‘Mind Boggling’
During the interview, Democrats accused Lutnick of dodging questions and criticized the decision not to videotape the session. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) told reporters that Lutnick could not “remember why he went” to Epstein’s island, calling it “mind boggling.”
“He somehow remembers going to the island after pictures surfaced of him being at the island, but he doesn’t remember why he went to the island, and we had the emails. That’s why we found out he was at the island. This is absolutely absurd, and he should resign,” Subramanyam said outside the interview room.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) went further, labeling Lutnick a “pathological liar who is enabling the most egregious cover-up in American history.” She pressed Lutnick on how he could visit Epstein’s island in 2012 if he and his wife were “truly so uncomfortable” with him, especially given Epstein’s 2008 sweetheart plea deal for soliciting a minor.
“Howard Lutnick tried to tell us in that room that he essentially didn’t know any of that,” Ansari said. “I asked him, ‘How did I as a child at the time see this all over the media about Jeffrey Epstein and you, an adult who was this person’s neighbor, who had engaged with him before — how could you possibly not have known?’ The level of the lies that are taking place inside that room without video is unbelievable.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) suggested the lack of video was deliberate: “We know why that interview was not videotaped. If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick.”
Comer Defends Lutnick, Calls Him Transparent
Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) dismissed the Democratic criticisms, accusing them of misrepresenting what was said. “They came out telling you all stuff that was said that was not said,” Comer said. He noted that Lutnick had only three interactions with Epstein over a decade and visited the island with his family for a two-hour lunch. “The only thing that I’ve seen that Lutnick did wrong … wasn’t 100 percent truthful on the brief visit to the island with his family. He corrected that in his opening statement. And you know, we’ll see. We’ll continue our investigation, and if we find that there were any misstatements by Lutnick, it’s a felony to lie to Congress and he’ll be held accountable,” Comer added.
Lutnick is the first sitting Cabinet official to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s Epstein probe, which has also heard from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is scheduled to appear later this month.
For more on the controversy, read our earlier report on Lutnick facing House grilling over contradictory Epstein claims and Comer's accusation that Lutnick misled on his island visit.
