Democrats in Congress on Wednesday renewed calls for U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to resign after testifying about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lutnick spoke before lawmakers in the U.S. House Oversight Committee during a closed-door hearing. The commerce secretary has come under pressure to explain his ties to the deceased sex offender after communications between the two appeared throughout the U.S. Department of Justice’s release of files associated with Epstein.
Lutnick previously said he decided to “never be in a room” with Epstein after a tour of his home in 2005. The two were previously neighbors in New York City.
However, in testimony before the U.S. Senate in February, Lutnick said he visited Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, in 2012 with his family for lunch.
Chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, R-Ky., said Lutnick had not been “100% truthful” about his visit to Epstein’s private island.
“Many of the members [of the Oversight Committee] wanted to hear from Lutnick and I’ll add he’s come in voluntarily so I appreciate that,” Comer said. “We haven’t talked to too many people that have admitted they’ve been on the island.”
Democrats on the Oversight Committee slammed Lutnick over his testimony when speaking to reporters. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Lutnick’s testimony was “embarrassing” and called for President Donald Trump to remove him.
“He was asked very straight-forward questions about whether he regretted misleading the American people,” Khanna said. “It was just contortions and lies, and no acknowledgement that he misled the American public.”
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., repeated the call for Lutnick to resign. He said Lutnick was “dishonest” and “evasive” in how he answered questions from lawmakers.
“I feel very comfortable saying that Howard Lutnick is a pathological liar,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., said.
Ansari said lawmakers walked through the timeline of Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein, beginning in 2005. She said Lutnick described his interactions with Epstein as “meaningless” and “inconsequential.”
During the hearing, lawmakers said Lutnick admitted to having shared investments in a particular company with Epstein. The lawmakers did not disclose the name of the company in question.
Unlike the previous depositions of former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, Lutnick’s interview was not recorded on video. Comer said Lutnick’s decision to appear voluntarily meant he did not have to be recorded.
“Lutnick had three interactions with Epstein over 10 years,” Comer said. “He’s been very forthcoming with those interactions.”
Comer said a transcript of the interview would be released soon and that there would be six more witnesses that will have “pertinent information” on the Epstein investigation.
“I think we’ve got some more quality witnesses coming in in the next few weeks that will hopefully have more information that I think will be relevant to the investigation,” Comer said.
