Commerce Secretary Lutnick to Face House Oversight Interview on Epstein Ties

The House Oversight Committee's investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has shifted to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick this week.

Lutnick is set to appear voluntarily before the congressional panel on Wednesday for a transcribed interview about his previous relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 after facing federal sex trafficking charges.

His decision to testify came after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., promised to call a vote on subpoenaing him.

Attendance by lawmakers remains uncertain because the House is in a district work period this week. Lutnick may still face questions from House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., and other Democrats, who have charged him with concealing the extent of his past links to Epstein.

"The Secretary looks forward to addressing any questions on the record when he testifies voluntarily before the Oversight Committee," a Department of Commerce spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "He looks forward to putting to rest the inaccurate and baseless claims in the media designed to distract from his historic work underway at the Commerce Department."

Lutnick, a billionaire and former CEO of Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, told the New York Post last year that he ended his association with Epstein in 2005. The men had been next-door neighbors in Manhattan's Upper East Side, with their townhomes sharing a wall.

Lutnick acknowledged during a February Senate hearing, however, that he and his family shared a brief lunch with Epstein in 2012 on the financier's private Caribbean island. Records had surfaced showing their contact continued past 2005.

"We left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife. All together. We were on a family vacation," Lutnick told lawmakers. "I don’t recall why we did it, but we did."

That island visit occurred four years after Epstein's 2008 conviction in Florida state court for soliciting a minor for prostitution. He served 13 months in prison under a deal that granted him immunity from federal charges, which critics have labeled a sweetheart arrangement.

Democrats highlighted inconsistencies in Lutnick's statements during his April testimony before the House Budget Committee.

"Why did you lie about your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?" Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., asked him at the hearing.

Lutnick sidestepped the question, saying Dean's line of inquiry did not relate to the Commerce Department's budget request for the next fiscal year.

He has consistently described his Epstein connection as limited and faces no accusations of misconduct.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., welcomed Lutnick's cooperation.

"I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee," Comer said in a March statement to Fox News Digital. "I look forward to his testimony."

Lutnick is not the only Trump administration official in the panel's Epstein inquiry this month. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is due for a transcribed interview on May 29 after receiving a subpoena from Comer's committee. Democrats and some Republicans had threatened contempt proceedings over her management of Epstein documents if she refused to appear.