Howard Lutnick, Commerce secretary, agrees to interview with House committee in Epstein probe

Washington — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to answer questions from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of its investigation into the government’s handling of the case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the committee confirmed Tuesday.

“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” Rep. James Comer, who chairs the Oversight Committee said in a statement. “I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee. I look forward to his testimony.”

The committee has not yet announced a date for the interview.

Lutnick is among a slew of powerful people who were revealed to have been in Epstein’s orbit after the Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of records stemming from its investigation into Epstein in late January.

Lutnick had said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005, three years before the disgraced financier agreed to plead guilty to state prostitution charges in Florida. But emails showed that in 2012, Lutnick, his wife, Allison, and their children planned a visit to Little St. James, the private island that Epstein owned.

During testimony before Congress last month, Lutnick was pressed about his relationship to Epstein and acknowledged visiting the island. Still, he said he “barely had anything to do with that person.”

“We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour. Then we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife all together,” Lutnick said. “We were on family vacation. We were not apart. To suggest there was anything untoward about that in 2012, I don’t recall why we did it. But we did.”

Epstein and Lutnick were also neighbors in New York City, and documents released by the Justice Department showed the two were in business together as recently as 2014 over their shared dealings in advertising company called Adfin, which has since shuttered.

Epstein and Lutnick, along with three other men, were also seen in an undated photo together that appears to have been taken on Epstein’s island. 

The duo exchanged emails about the firm in 2018 and also discussed a planned museum expansion plan that year, according to the communications released by the government. 

Epstein was arrested and charged with federal sex-trafficking charges in July 2019. He died by suicide at a Manhattan correctional facility while awaiting trial.