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The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee piled onto calls from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., on Monday for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to step down in light of alleged business ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Files released by the DOJ suggest that Lutnick and Epstein bought stakes together in a technology company called Adfin in 2012.
Lutnick, who is listed among nine other investors, appears as a “signatory” alongside Epstein, who is named as a “preferred holder.”
Notably, the purchase is dated four years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old girl.
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Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said the documents clearly contradicted previous statements from Lutnick about his relationship with Epstein.
“It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, and we now know they were in business together,” Garcia said in a post to X.
“Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions,” Garcia added.
Garcia’s calls follow similar comments made by Massie on Sunday. When asked about Lutnick’s appearance in the files on CNN, Massie also said that Lutnick should step down.
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“He should just resign. Prince [Andrew] lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about,” Massie said, referring to the member of the royal family who was stripped of his titles last year for his association with Epstein.
“He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein — and this was many years after Epstein was convicted for sexual crimes. So, he’s got a lot to answer for.”
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Other documents in the Epstein files reveal communications between Lutnick and Epstein’s staff that suggest Lutnick may have met with Epstein in the Virgin Islands.
“Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St. Thomas some over the holidays. Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together,” an assistant to Epstein wrote in an email dated November 2012.
In response to an inquiry from Fox News Digital on the criticism from Garcia and Massie, a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce framed their demands as a distraction.
“Mr. Lutnick met Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 and had very limited interactions with him over the next 14 years,” the spokesperson said.
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“This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration’s accomplishments, including securing trillions of dollars in investment, delivering historic trade deals and fighting for the American worker.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., did not respond to a request for comment on whether the committee would consider questioning Lutnick as a part of the committee’s ongoing probe of Epstein and his crimes.
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