US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defends past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein

During a Senate hearing, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick addressed allegations of extensive contact with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lutnick stated that he had minimal interaction with Epstein over a 14-year period starting in 2005, when they became neighbors in New York. The testimony follows the release of millions of Department of Justice documents that contradict Lutnick's previous claims of severing ties 20 years ago. These records include a lunch meeting on Epstein's private Caribbean island in December 2012 and another meeting in New York in May 2011. Lutnick defended the island visit by clarifying he was on a family boat vacation and the meeting lasted only one hour. He also noted that he only exchanged approximately ten emails and had three total meetings with Epstein during their acquaintance. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have intensified calls for his resignation following these revelations. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial for the sexual exploitation of minors.