Embattled Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could soon face a bipartisan grilling over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after a damning new photo showed him with the convicted sex offender.
The photo, which was found in a cache of Epstein files but was later removed by Trump’s Justice Department, appears to show Epstein and Lutnick walking on Little St. James, the Caribbean island where many of Epstein’s heinous crimes took place.
Hauling in Lutnick would be yet another political headache for Trump, who this month sought to distance himself from his commerce secretary after Lutnick was caught lying about his ties to Epstein.
In a significant shift on Friday, Republican Nancy Mace posted the latest picture on social media and declared: “Howard Lutnick should take questions from the Oversight committee.”
Mace’s support and that of others on the committee would provide the numbers needed to force Lutnick to testify and widen the Epstein investigation to Donald Trump’s inner sanctum.
The investigation hit fever pitch this week when former First Lady Hillary Clinton faced seven hours of questioning over Epstein, paving the way for an even more explosive deposition by former president Bill Clinton on Friday.
Speaking ahead of the hearing in New York, the committee’s GOP chairman, James Comer, told reporters that a video of the closed-door deposition would be available soon and, “I think it will be interesting what Hillary Clinton said about Howard Lutnick.”
“And how she said it,” Mace added.
Comer continued: “We’re going to continue asking questions of everyone that shows up in photos on the island and things like that.”
Democrat Ro Khanna, who was instrumental in pushing for the Epstein files to be released, said he welcomed the support of Republicans.
“I was pleased to see Congresswoman Nancy Mace today calling for Howard Lutnick to come before our committee,” he said.
“I believe we will have the votes to subpoena him, and we will work with Ranking member (Robert) Garcia to make sure that he comes before our committee next.”
Lutnick, the 64-year-old billionaire former head of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, used to live next to Epstein’s townhouse mansion on Manhattan’s East 71st Street.
But in an interview last year as the political firestorm engulfed the administration, he claimed he met Epstein only once, in 2005, and after that encounter, he and his wife vowed never to be in a room with him again.
The MAGA loyalist also described Epstein as “disgusting” and said he cut off all contact after that year.
However, files released by the Justice Department earlier this month revealed that Lutnick and Epstein were in email contact years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor in 2008, including messages arranging calls and lunches.
“I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation,” Lutnick was forced to admit after the files exposed him.
“My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies.”
But the latest photograph, which does not show any family members or nannies, has raised even more questions.
In the photo, Lutnick appears with three other unidentified men, all wearing baggy shorts and T-shirts or button-down shirts, while Epstein is dressed in a white T-shirt and pants.
Asked why the photo had been removed, a DOJ official claimed the image was “part of a batch of files that had been flagged for nudity.”
“The batch of thousands of images was pulled for review and is being uploaded with necessary redactions on a rolling basis,” the official told the Daily Beast. “No files are being deleted.”
Oversight committee chairman James Comer stated on Thursday that it is “very possible” the committee would compel Lutnick to give evidence about his relationship with Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
