Trump Administration Faces Scrutiny Over Commerce Secretary's Epstein Ties
President Donald Trump is maintaining his support for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick despite the release of newly uncovered documents that indicate Lutnick visited deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island years after Epstein's criminal conviction. The revelations have prompted growing bipartisan calls for Lutnick's resignation from his Cabinet position.
Contradictory Evidence Emerges from Justice Department Files
According to documents released by the Justice Department in compliance with recent legislation demanding investigatory files from the Epstein prosecution, Lutnick discussed traveling to Little St. James in 2012. A follow-up email from Epstein's assistant appears to confirm that Lutnick did indeed make the trip to the notorious island. This apparent visit occurred four years after Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008.
The email evidence directly contradicts previous statements made by Lutnick, the former CEO of investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, who suggested he had severed all ties with Epstein and did not engage with him socially despite living next door to the financier in Manhattan. In a podcast interview last year, Lutnick claimed, "I was never in the room with him socially, for business or even philanthropy."
Administration Response and Congressional Pressure
The Commerce Department responded to the revelations with a statement attacking news media coverage, declaring, "This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration's accomplishments." The department did not address follow-up questions regarding the apparent 2012 visit to Epstein's island.
White House staff similarly avoided specific questions about the documents. Spokesman Kush Desai stated, "The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick and the Department of Commerce, remains focused on delivering for the American people."
President Trump himself claimed last week that he was unaware of Lutnick's or billionaire Elon Musk's presence in the Epstein files, telling reporters during an Oval Office appearance, "I have a lot of things I'm doing, you know, a lot of things. I don't know. You mentioned two names. I'm sure they're fine. I'm sure they're fine. Otherwise, there would have been major headlines."
Bipartisan Calls for Resignation Intensify
In reality, significant headlines have emerged about Lutnick, whose anti-trade, pro-tariff advice has heavily influenced Trump's international economic policy since returning to office. Democratic members of Congress have called for Lutnick to resign his Cabinet post, and these demands were joined on Sunday by Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie, one of the House's main proponents of the Epstein file legislation.
Massie told CNN, "Really, he should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign."
New Mexico Representative Melanie Stansbury, a member of the House Oversight Committee, expressed her desire to subpoena Lutnick for testimony, stating, "Of course we would like to speak to Secretary Lutnick, and I personally believe that Mr. Lutnick needs to step down immediately." She noted that Republican committee members have shown no interest in pursuing such action.
Significance of the Island Visit
The trip to Little St. James, a tiny islet located a few miles off St. Thomas, carries particular significance because Epstein's victims have described it as a site where Epstein sexually assaulted them and offered them to some of his visitors. While there is no evidence that Lutnick interacted with any underage girls during his visit to the island or at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse, Trump has previously suggested that simply visiting the island warrants condemnation.
Trump falsely attacked former President Bill Clinton for allegedly traveling to the island, though White House chief of staff Susie Wiles conceded in an interview last year that there was no evidence Clinton had ever set foot on Little St. James.
Broader Context of Trump-Epstein Relationship
President Trump himself maintained a long friendship with Epstein, which included socializing with both Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump has claimed he ended the relationship after Epstein recruited young girls from his South Florida country club, Mar-a-Lago. However, this recruiting began no later than 2000, and Epstein remained a Mar-a-Lago member until 2007.
When questioned about why it took seven years to ban Epstein from his club, Trump claimed last year that he did not understand the question. Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the Democratic ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, revealed on Monday that an email between Maxwell and Epstein indicated Epstein was still visiting Mar-a-Lago in 2009 and had never been asked to stay away.
Raskin told reporters after reviewing redacted files at a DOJ office, "And that was redacted for some ... inscrutable reason."
Epstein Case Developments and Maxwell's Current Status
Jeffrey Epstein died by apparent suicide in 2019, just one month after his arrest on child sex trafficking charges. Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested the following year, convicted at trial in late 2021, and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022. Last summer, she was transferred to a minimum-security prison camp after meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as one of Trump's criminal defense lawyers.
Also on Monday, Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a videotaped deposition with the House Oversight Committee. Her lawyer stated she would answer questions only if President Trump granted her clemency.
President Trump has repeatedly boasted about declining invitations to visit Epstein's island, telling reporters last summer during a visit to his golf course in Scotland, "I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down. But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island."
