WASHINGTON ― U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed on Tuesday that he traveled to late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012 for lunch as part of a family vacation.
“I did not have a relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person,” Lutnick told senators at a hearing on broadband infrastructure.
Asked by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) if he saw anything inappropriate during his time with the deceased financier, Lutnick said, “The only thing I saw … was staff who worked for Mr. Epstein on that island.”
Lutnick, a billionaire businessman, is facing bipartisan calls to resign from the Trump administration after emails released by the Department of Justice showed he had ties to Epstein even after he was convicted in 2008 on charges of trafficking minors.
“Really, he should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign,” Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told CNN.
