(AFP) – US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted on Tuesday to having lunch on the private island of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2012, but denied closer ties, amid bipartisan calls for his resignation. A rising number of US lawmakers have called for Lutnick to step down from President Donald Trump’s cabinet, as files released by the Justice Department contradicted earlier comments that he severed ties with Epstein more than two decades ago.
Trump “fully supports” Lutnick despite revelations that he maintained ties with Epstein, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday. She added that he “remains a very important member” of Trump’s team. Records have emerged showing Lutnick’s plans in 2012 to meet Epstein for lunch in Little Saint James, notoriously known as Epstein Island. “We had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour,” Lutnick told a Senate committee hearing. But he stressed that he was with his wife, children, and nannies. “We were on family vacation,” he said.
Asked if he saw anything untoward, Lutnick maintained that besides his family and that of another couple who were present, he only saw staff who worked for Epstein on the island. High-profile people have come under scrutiny for visits to Little Saint James, the private redoubt in the US Virgin Islands where prosecutors alleged Epstein trafficked underage girls for sex.
Lutnick stressed to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday: “Over a 14-year period, I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person.” The billionaire was referring to a period starting in 2005 when he moved to a New York home where Epstein was his neighbor. He said that he met Epstein when they were both in New York. But he has come under fire from US lawmakers. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said Monday that “Lutnick has no business being our Commerce Secretary, and he should resign immediately.” He added that Lutnick’s earlier denial of dealings with Epstein raises “serious concerns about his judgment and ethics.”
On Sunday, Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie also told CNN the commerce secretary “should just resign,” citing similar resignations in Great Britain. And Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, charged in a social media post that Lutnick “has been lying about his relationship with Epstein.” “He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, yet we now know they were in business together,” Garcia said, after released documents indicated the men had once become joint investors in a firm.
Lutnick denied Tuesday that he had dinner in Epstein’s New York City home in 2011, although he acknowledged that the documents indicated a planned meeting with Epstein in May that year. The commerce chief was also questioned about documents that suggested Epstein had an interest in meeting his nanny, but said this “had nothing to do with me.” “I have nothing to hide, absolutely nothing,” Lutnick said. White House spokesman Kush Desai earlier told AFP: “The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce, remains focused on delivering for the American people.”
Lutnick — a close ally of Trump’s — served as chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald before becoming US commerce secretary last year.
– Beiyi SEOW
© 2024 AFP
