Megyn Kelly tore into President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, accusing him of “lying to our faces” over his links to the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
During a discussion on The Megyn Kelly Show on Wednesday, Kelly blasted Lutnick for having “the nerve to lie about” the extent of his relationship with Epstein, who pleaded guilty in June 2008 to two state prostitution charges.
In an October interview with New York Post podcaster, Miranda Devine, the Trump-appointed commerce secretary said he met his then–New York neighbor Epstein in 2005 but cut off contact after concluding he was “gross” and “disgusting.”
“My wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again, a one and absolutely done,” Lutnick said at the time.
But records released in January as part of a new batch of Epstein-related documents indicate that Lutnick traveled to the billionaire’s private island in December 2012, years after he claimed to have severed ties.
Lutnick acknowledged visiting the private island with his wife, four children, and several nannies during a Senate hearing this month. The commerce secretary told lawmakers he “did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation.”
CBS News also reported this month that Lutnick and Epstein were still engaged in business dealings as late as 2014.
Documents reveal that in December 2012, both men signed contracts on behalf of their respective entities to acquire stakes in Adfin, a now-defunct advertising technology company, and related correspondence suggests the partnership continued through 2014.
Meanwhile, records show Lutnick invited Epstein to a 2015 fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, and Epstein later donated $50,000 toward a 2017 dinner honoring Lutnick. Emails also reveal Lutnick reached out to Epstein’s assistant in May 2018 regarding a proposed expansion of the Frick Collection museum near their neighboring Upper East Side townhouses.
“Why would you be so reckless, and where’s your damn apology?” Kelly said on Wednesday. “You make yourself into a James Clapper.”
Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence under President Barack Obama, was widely criticized by conservatives for his 2013 Senate testimony in which he said the NSA did “not wittingly” collect data on millions of Americans—a statement later contradicted by disclosures from Edward Snowden. Clapper later said his answer was the “least untruthful” response he could give in a public setting, a remark that became politically infamous.
Kelly continued: “This is supposed to be a more transparent administration, and what President Trump doesn’t need is a liar in the position of commerce secretary, about something as serious as your connections with Jeffrey Epstein, and it was such a bold-faced lie.
“Like, not only was he in a room with him, he went to the guy’s island! He started a business with him, reports CBS! I mean, about as bold as you could get.”
However, she stopped short of saying Lutnick should step down from his role.
“I’m not saying he should step down, he shouldn’t step down, but he should take responsibility for his lie,” Kelly argued. “Not just to anybody, but to Miranda Devine, who most of us on the right love and respect. He humiliated her, lied right to her face, and he had to have known at some level this was going to come out, and he owes her an apology, and he owes the rest of us an apology for lying to our faces.”
She concluded: “I will tell you, it’s fine if he doesn’t step down–I don’t believe one word that comes out of his mouth from this point forward. Not one word. Not one word.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Lutnick for comment.
Kelly is not the first conservative to speak out against Lutnick since his trip to Epstein’s private island was revealed.
Speaking to NewsNation, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace said: “As a mom, I wouldn’t sit and have lunch with a convicted pedophile. I don’t think that’s something that I would personally do, but that’s my personal choice.”
Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky urged Lutnick to step down. “Really, he should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign,” Massie told CNN.
But Trump stood by his commerce secretary. “President Trump maintains complete confidence in Secretary Lutnick because he has been the most transformative commerce secretary in modern history and is a champion of the president’s America First trade and tariffs policies,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told CNN.
Lutnick—widely viewed as a key force behind Trump’s sweeping global tariffs strategy—has not been charged with or accused of any misconduct connected to Epstein.
Trump is facing his own mounting questions about his relationship with Epstein.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin alleged in an interview with Axios this month that Trump’s name came up in the unredacted Epstein files “more than a million times.”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
