Lutnick acknowledges conferences with Epstein that contradict his claims

By STEPHEN GROVES

WASHINGTON (AP) — Underneath questioning from Democrats Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein twice after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a toddler, reversing Lutnick’s earlier declare that he had lower ties with the late financier after 2005.

Lutnick as soon as once more downplayed his relationship with the disgraced financier who was as soon as his neighbor in New York Metropolis as he was questioned by Democrats throughout a subcommittee listening to of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of conferences that had been years aside.

“I didn’t have any relationship with him. I barely had something to do with him,” Lutnick instructed lawmakers.

However Lutnick is going through calls from a number of lawmakers for his resignation after the launch of case information on Epstein contradicted Lutnick’s claims on a podcast final 12 months that he had determined to “by no means be within the room” with Epstein once more after a 2005 tour of Epstein’s residence that disturbed Lutnick and his spouse.

The commerce secretary mentioned Tuesday that he and his household truly had lunch with Epstein on his non-public island in 2012 and he had one other hour-long engagement at Epstein’s residence in 2011. Lutnick, a member of President Donald Trump’s Cupboard, is the highest-profile U.S. official to face bipartisan requires his resignation amid revelations of his ties to Epstein. His acknowledgement comes as lawmakers are greedy for what accountability appears to be like like amid the revelations contained in what’s often known as the Epstein information.

In nations like the UK, the Epstein information have triggered resignations and the stripping of royal privileges, however up to now, U.S. officers haven’t met the identical stage of retribution.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the Democrat who questioned Lutnick, instructed him, “There’s not a sign that you just your self engaged in any wrongdoing with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s the truth that you consider that you just misled the nation and the Congress based mostly in your earlier statements.”