The top Democrat on the House oversight committee says its Republican chairman has given “no response” on subpoenaing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to answer questions about his past correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said on Sunday he had asked Rep. James Comer (R-KY) to bring Lutnick in for questioning before the congressional panel. Garcia believes Lutnick should testify.
“Not only did he visit the island, he had tons of communication with Jeffrey Epstein after it was already known that Jeffrey Epstein was essentially convicted for preying on children,” Garcia said on the CBS News program Face the Nation.
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As part of a “sweetheart deal” in 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to Florida state charges of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. In return, he only spent 13 months in prison. Epstein was later arrested on federal sex trafficking charges before his apparent suicide in August 2019.
After Epstein and Lutnick first met in 2005, the latter claimed he cut ties with the financier immediately. However, investigative documents recently released by the Department of Justice showed that Lutnick retained a strong relationship with Epstein following his 2008 conviction and even maintained a business partnership with him as recently as 2014.
In December 2012, the two men signed an agreement to acquire stakes in a now-shuttered advertising technology company. That same month, Lutnick and his family planned to visit Epstein’s private island.
Last week, President Donald Trump said he was previously unaware of Lutnick’s 2012 visit to Epstein’s island. Trump also boasted that he was “never there” himself.
Lutnick says he merely had “limited interactions” with Epstein, downplaying the extent of their relationship. After appearing in the Epstein files, he is now facing scrutiny from Congress.
“It is shameful that he is actually in our government,” Garcia said of Lutnick. “He should not be the commerce secretary. He should come talk to the oversight committee.”
Despite the Democratic ranking member’s wish to question Lutnick himself, the Republican chairman said subpoenaing the administration official is not his primary concern right now because he fears it may “jeopardize” the five scheduled depositions for individuals connected to Epstein.
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“We’ll see what happens here, and we’ll move forward,” Comer told reporters last week when asked about the possibility of subpoenaing Lutnick. “We’re interested in talking to anyone that might have any information that would help us get justice for the survivors.”
Ghislaine Maxwell, an accomplice of Epstein, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and demanded clemency from Trump in return for her cooperation during a closed-door deposition last Monday. The next deposition, set for Feb. 18, concerns former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, who was listed as an Epstein co-conspirator in a 2019 FBI document.
