Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as part of its investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., said.
“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” Comer said in the committee’s statement.
The interview — set to be transcribed and later released — will focus on Epstein’s sex trafficking enterprise, Maxwell’s role in recruiting and grooming minors, and questions about the handling and release of government records tied to the case.
Epstein was a financier who cultivated ties with prominent figures in politics, business, and academia and was arrested on July 6, 2019, on federal sex trafficking charges in the Southern District of New York, according to the Justice Department’s indictment.
Prosecutors alleged Epstein and his associates sexually abused dozens of underage girls at properties including his Manhattan mansion and his private island, Little Saint James, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan federal jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial, according to the New York City medical examiner’s ruling.
Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was convicted on Dec. 29, 2021, on multiple federal counts including sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy and was later sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal judge.
Despite these convictions, lawmakers from both parties have pushed for broader disclosure of investigative materials, arguing that released flight logs, contact books, and other documents are incomplete or overly redacted.
The Oversight Committee has been critical of the pace and completeness of Justice Department releases tied to Epstein’s network, saying the public deserves clarity on who associated with Epstein and the nature of those interactions.
Lutnick, who previously led the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald before joining the administration, has been under intensified scrutiny after newly released Epstein files showed he visited Epstein’s private island in December 2012 with his wife and children and had other interactions beyond what he had previously acknowledged.
Justice Department documents show that in December 2012, Lutnick, his wife, and their children visited Little Saint James for lunch with Epstein, a detail that contradicted earlier statements that Lutnick had cut ties with Epstein after a 2005 meeting.
There is no public evidence that Lutnick has been charged with any crime related to Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, and he has denied wrongdoing, saying he had “nothing to hide.”
President Donald Trump has publicly defended Lutnick amid the scrutiny, telling reporters that Lutnick “would go in and do whatever he has to say” to the committee and calling him a “very innocent guy, doing a good job,” comments reported by Axios and ABC News.
Trump also indicated he was not previously aware of Lutnick’s island visit before it became public but said he supports Lutnick’s cooperation and performance in office.
Democrats on the Oversight Committee and in the Senate have called for Lutnick’s testimony and, in some cases, his resignation, arguing that conflicting statements and newly disclosed records raise questions about transparency and judgment.
Comer said Lutnick’s voluntary cooperation is a positive step for the committee as it continues its broader inquiry into Epstein’s network of powerful associates and the government’s handling of related records.
The committee has not yet announced a date for the transcribed interview.
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