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Howard Lutnick, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, has agreed to appear voluntarily before the House committee on oversight and government reform as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network, the committee’s chair announced on Tuesday.
James Comer, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said Lutnick had “proactively” agreed to the transcribed interview.
“I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee,” Comer said in a statement.
Lutnick has acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private island in 2012 with family members – a trip that contradicted his earlier claim that he had severed ties with Epstein in 2005. Last week, the Department of Justice briefly deleted and then restored an undated photo of Lutnick and Epstein in an island setting. CBS News reported earlier this month that Lutnick and Epstein were in business together as recently as 2014.
The announcement came just days after Democrats on the committee publicly threatened to subpoena Lutnick if he refused to cooperate. Representative Ro Khanna of California told reporters on Friday that the votes were there to compel his testimony.
“I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him,” Khanna said.
Republican representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina also called for Lutnick’s appearance last week.
The commerce secretary’s connections with Epstein came back into the public eye during Hillary Clinton’s deposition, in which Mace pressed the former secretary of state about her own relationship with Lutnick. Clinton explained forcefully that she had worked alongside Lutnick in the immediate aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, when his firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, lost more than 650 employees, including his brother.
Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes.
