Howard Lutnick once swore he would "never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again."
That was before the DOJ released 3 million pages proving he never stopped.
Now Trump's Commerce Secretary has a date with the House Oversight Committee – May 6 – and he's walking in voluntarily to do something the Clintons only did under subpoena.
The Story Lutnick Told Before the Epstein Files Came Out
The version Lutnick sold on a New York Post podcast last October was clean and simple.
He moved next door to Epstein on the Upper East Side.
Epstein gave him a tour of his home in 2005.
Epstein mentioned he got "the right kind of massage" every day, leaned in uncomfortably close, and Lutnick went home and told his wife they were done.
That was supposed to be the whole story.
The DOJ's 3 million pages said otherwise.
The files showed Lutnick calling Epstein in April 2011 and meeting him for drinks in May 2011 – three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
https://twitter.com/highbrow_nobrow/status/2040112683752509787?s=20
Then came December 2012.
Emails show Lutnick arranging to visit Epstein's private Caribbean island, Little St. James – after Epstein replied to an inquiry about timing and Lutnick confirmed: "OK, lunch on Sunday. See you then."
He admitted all of it in February Senate testimony – the lunch, the island, the family vacation.
He told the Senate he met Epstein "three times over 14 years" and had "done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard."
James Comer and the House Oversight Committee want to hear him say that again, on the record, May 6.
Lutnick Invited Epstein to a Hillary Clinton Fundraiser and Democrats Are Hoping You Missed It
Here's the detail the Democrats who are screaming for Lutnick's resignation have been very careful not to emphasize.
In November 2015 – seven years after Epstein's conviction for procuring a child for prostitution – an email from Lutnick's office landed in Epstein's inbox.
https://twitter.com/BrandonStraka/status/2027071221595271255?s=20
The invitation: a "very intimate fundraising event with Hillary Clinton," hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm Lutnick then led.
The same Jeffrey Epstein that Democrats now use to demand Republican resignations was personally invited to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser by the man they say should be disqualified from public office.
Whether Epstein attended has not been confirmed.
What has been confirmed is that the committee hauling Lutnick in on May 6 already deposed Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton about their own Epstein ties – under subpoena, not voluntarily.
Trump Backed Him Publicly and James Comer Set the Date
Trump didn't waver.
He called Lutnick "a very innocent guy, doing a good job" and said he "would go in and do whatever he has to say" to the committee.
Karoline Leavitt backed him up at the podium: "Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump's team, and the president fully supports the secretary."
https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/2021301103963619447?s=20
James Comer – the man who dragged the Clintons in and put Ghislaine Maxwell in a deposition chair – praised Lutnick for proactively agreeing to appear and called it a "demonstrated commitment to transparency."
That's not the language Comer used for the Clintons.
He subpoenaed them.
Lutnick called and offered.
The Clintons Needed Subpoenas. Lutnick Volunteered to Testify.
The House Oversight Committee has been running the most consequential Epstein investigation in American history – deposing former presidents, subpoenaing attorneys general, calling in billionaires and assistants and security guards.
Bill Clinton showed up only after a subpoena.
Hillary Clinton showed up only after a subpoena.
Ghislaine Maxwell invoked the Fifth.
Howard Lutnick called Comer's office and said he'd come in.
Democrats want you to see Lutnick's May 6 appearance as a man backed into a corner.
What it actually is: a man with a clear conscience walking into the same room where the Clintons had to be dragged – and doing it on his own terms, with the full backing of the President of the United States.
Lutnick put it simply: "I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight."
May 6 is his chance.
Sources:
- "Trump official Howard Lutnick to sit for May interview with House panel on Epstein ties," Axios, April 6, 2026.
- "Epstein files: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick set for May 6 interview by House Oversight," CNBC, April 6, 2026.
- "Trump Commerce Secretary Lutnick to appear for House Epstein probe, Comer says," Fox News Digital, March 3, 2026.
- "Howard Lutnick visited Epstein's island despite claiming to cut ties, DOJ emails reveal," MEAWW, January 31, 2026.
- "Trump commerce secretary Lutnick invited Epstein to Clinton fundraiser," USA Today, February 4, 2026.
- "Under fire for Epstein ties, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defends visiting his private island," NBC News, February 10, 2026.