Howard Lutnick facing calls to testify after restored Epstein island photo
howard lutnick, the US commerce secretary who lived next door to Jeffrey Epstein in New York, is being pressed to explain his ties after the justice department restored a photo showing him with the disgraced financier on Epstein’s private island. Lawmakers from both parties have demanded testimony, records and a full accounting of interactions that continued after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
Restored justice department photo and its details
The justice department’s website restored a photo that places Epstein front and center, surrounded by three other men, with Lutnick standing a few feet behind him in a blue shirt and white shorts on Epstein’s private island. It has not been confirmed when the photo was taken, and the image’s reappearance has spurred renewed scrutiny of past contacts.
Democratic senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley seek records and testimony
Democratic US senators Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Jeff Merkley of Oregon sent a letter to Lutnick calling on him to testify before Congress about his relationship with Epstein. The senators requested that Lutnick produce all records of meetings, phone calls, and correspondence with Epstein or his associates and provide a complete timeline of every interaction he has had with Epstein, including interactions after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution.
The senators also asked Lutnick to provide any information or evidence to support his former claim that Epstein "is the greatest blackmailer ever, " made in an October interview, and to answer questions regarding the nanny that Lutnick employed. The letter says, "The American people and the survivors of Mr Epstein’s crimes deserve a full accounting from every public official whose statements on this matter have proven incomplete. If, as you say, you have nothing to hide, then producing these records should be a straightforward matter. "
House oversight members signal subpoenas; Comer, Mace and Khanna weigh in
US House oversight committee chairperson James Comer, a Tennessee Republican, told reporters that he is not ruling out the possibility that Lutnick would be issued a subpoena to testify. US House member Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican who serves on the oversight committee, wrote in a post on X that "Howard Lutnick should take questions" from the body.
Outside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in New York, US House member Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and oversight committee member, said, "I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him. " Khanna's remarks came shortly before Bill Clinton testified to the House committee about his ties to Epstein.
Documented encounters: 2011 event and 2012 island lunch
Lutnick has been identified in justice department case files as having two engagements with Epstein years after he said he had distanced himself in 2005. The files show Lutnick attended a 2011 event at Epstein’s home and that Lutnick’s family had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012—four years after Epstein was sentenced to 13 months in jail for procuring a minor for prostitution.
During his 10 February testimony before the US Senate appropriations committee, Lutnick, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, admitted to the 2012 lunch. "I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation, " he testified, and he also insisted that he "barely had anything to do" with Epstein. Lutnick has denied wrongdoing and has said he has nothing to hide about his links to Epstein.
White House response and next steps for oversight
The White House did not immediately respond to comment on the calls for Lutnick to testify. With Democratic senators requesting records and House oversight figures publicly discussing subpoenas, lawmakers are signaling a push for formal testimony and document production as they probe the extent of connections between Lutnick and Epstein.
