Rep Says Even Trump Would Fire Top Goon Over ‘Embarrassing’ Epstein Grilling
Howard Lutnick was blasted over his “evasive” explanations about the pedophile.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faced sharp criticism from House Democrats following a closed-door questioning session regarding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Lutnick appeared before the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol on Wednesday for an interview, the proceedings of which were transcribed in writing.
He had agreed to meet with lawmakers behind closed doors after recently released documents related to the Epstein case revealed that his ties to the convicted sex offender were far closer than he had publicly admitted—relationships that had even led him to visit Epstein’s private island accompanied by his family.
However, Democrats emerged from the meeting in a state of furious indignation over Mr. Lutnick’s demeanor. The session was transcribed in writing rather than video-recorded—a decision made after Republicans argued that it was unnecessary to film a witness appearing voluntarily before the committee.
On this matter, Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told reporters: “If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick,” He added: “It was really embarrassing.”
Mr. Khanna explained that very direct questions had been put to Mr. Lutnick regarding whether he felt any remorse for having misled the American public; yet, the senior Trump administration official responded with “evasions and lies,” expressing “no acknowledgment whatsoever of the fact that he had deceived the American public.”
Mr. Lutnick had lived in the house next door to that of the pedophile in Manhattan. In an episode of a New York Post podcast aired last autumn, he claimed to have visited Epstein’s mansion in 2005, shortly after the latter had moved in; however, he subsequently vowed never to “find himself in the same room” as the financier again, citing the unease Epstein instilled in both him and his wife.
Yet, emails contained in documents related to the Epstein case—which were later made public—revealed that Mr. Lutnick had, in reality, visited Epstein’s private island in 2012, accompanied by his family. Furthermore, a photograph showing the two men together was also discovered.
In the aforementioned New York Post podcast recording from last year, Mr. Lutnick had asserted that Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer in history,” hypothesizing that he possessed video recordings.
However, during his questioning session on Wednesday, the Commerce Secretary appeared to “change his tune”—adopting a radically different tone—according to Democrats.
“Now he’s saying, well, he was wrong. He was just speculating, and Epstein actually didn’t engage in blackmailing. This raises the question of what the cover-up is,” Khanna said. “Did someone tell him to say that?”
He added: “I’ve not heard that…. Epstein never engaged in blackmail. Why is Howard Lutnick changing his testimony, changing his story?”
The Democratic Representative from California concluded by stating: “It is clear that someone intervened to influence him.”
Representative Yasamin Ansari stated: “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,”
The Democratic representative from Arizona added that members of the House had scrutinized the timeline of Lutnick’s interactions with Epstein with meticulous attention to detail.
Democrats allege that when Lutnick was asked for details regarding his decision to take his family to Epstein’s island in 2012—given that the latter, a convicted sex offender, had been found guilty of soliciting a minor in 2008—Lutnick claimed to be unaware of Epstein’s crimes.
“The level of the lies that are taking place inside that room without video is unbelievable,” asserted Ms. Ansari.
Democrats asserted that Lotnick was sweating as he struggled to answer basic questions.
While Democrats launched a scathing attack on Lotnick’s performance, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer maintained that the Commerce Secretary had been “very transparent.”
“He came in voluntarily,” Mr. Comer told reporters
