Washington, 07 May (H.S.): President Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, testified before a congressional committee on Wednesday, admitting under oath that he and his family dined on Jeffrey Epstein's private island in 2012, despite prior public claims of severing ties with the disgraced financier years earlier.
Lutnick, formerly CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, described the two-hour lunch as an impromptu invitation extended while his group vacationed nearby in the US Virgin Islands; he insisted no deeper relationship existed, noting they had exchanged only about 10 emails and met thrice over 14 years.
This account contrasts sharply with his 2025 podcast remarks, where he vowed never to share a room with Epstein following a 2005 encounter involving a suggestive comment at the financier's Manhattan townhome.
Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) pressed Lutnick repeatedly on the visit's purpose, receiving evasive responses: He says he doesn't remember, that it's inexplicable.
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) deemed the session transparent, praising Lutnick's opening correction of past statements and warning that any proven falsehoods to Congress constitute a felony.
Newly released Justice Department files from January corroborated the lunch via emails and revealed Lutnick's 2015 invitation to Epstein for a Hillary Clinton fundraiser at his firm.
Epstein, convicted in 2008 of state prostitution charges involving an underage girl and facing 2019 federal sex-trafficking indictment, died by suicide in jail that year. Lutnick's proximity to such figures underscores ongoing scrutiny of Trump's cabinet amid the administration's aggressive foreign policy pivots, including recent Iran tensions where the president briefly paused naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz at Pakistan's request before issuing fresh ultimatums.
No charges have been filed against Lutnick, but the hearing amplifies calls for accountability in elite networks tied to the current White House.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
