New Epstein Photo Puts Pressure on Trump Official to Testify

Lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties are urging Donald Trump’s chief economic adviser to appear before Congress to discuss his connections with Jeffrey Epstein, following the emergence of a new photograph from Department of Justice (DOJ) archives.

The image in question appears to depict Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alongside Epstein and three other unidentified individuals on a tropical island setting.

Leading the charge is Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who has been instrumental in advocating for the release of the Epstein files. He has demanded that the DOJ clarify why this particular photograph was reportedly removed from its website.

“I’m sure there’s a good reason for this. The DOJ needs to inform Congress about who deleted this file so we can question them,” Massie posted on social media platform X in response to the photo’s circulation.

The White House has yet to provide a comment regarding the situation, and Lutnick has not been implicated in any illegal activities.

The pressure on Lutnick comes after he previously claimed in an October interview with the New York Post that he only interacted with Epstein on a single occasion because the financier ‘grossed’ him out. 

‘I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy,’ he added. ‘If that guy was there, I wasn’t going ’cause he’s gross. So I look back at it as a gift. He gave me a gift.’

But in January the release of new Epstein files showed Lutnick visited Epstein’s Little St. James island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties. He admitted earlier this month to visiting the island with his family in congressional testimony. 

A photo shows an individual resembling Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alongside Epstein on a tropical island

The pressure on Lutnick comes after he previously claimed in an October interview with the New York Post that he only interacted with Epstein on a single occasion

Republican and Democrats are calling on Donald Trump’s top economic adviser to testify before the House Overisght committee over his relationship with the deceased pedophile

‘I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person, OK?’ Lutnick told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on February 10. 

After former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified in front of the House Oversight Committee on Friday, lawmakers from both parties are demanding Lutnick face new questioning on his relationship with the pedophile. 

Oversight Chair James Comer told reporters in New York on Thursday the committee is not ruling out sending a subpoena to Lutnick for his deposition. 

‘That’s very possible,’ said the Kentucky Republican lawmaker. ‘I think it’s a good possibility that his name will arise in some questioning today.’

Meanwhile, Representative Nancy Mace, a vocal Trump congressional ally, said she would ask Clinton about Lutnick.

Comer has claimed the Oversight investigation is a bipartisan effort that will question Republicans and Democrats over their relations with Epstein. 

Lutnick’s contradictory retelling of his relationship with Epstein has prompted calls for his resignation from both sides of the aisle. 

He is considered an influential figure in Trump’s inner circle and one of the President’s closest advisers.

Comer has claimed the Oversight investigation is a bipartisan effort that will question Republicans and Democrats over their relations with Epstein

Lutnick’s contradictory retelling of his relationship with Epstein has prompted calls for his resignation from both sides of the aisle

Lutnick was Jeffrey Epstein’s neighbor in Manhattan for years but has claimed he severed all ties with the disgraced financier in 2005.

The Justice Department’s latest release of Epstein’s emails appears to show that Lutnick maintained contact with him years after Epstein’s conviction for sexual abuse. 

Emails show Epstein and Lutnick made plans to meet for lunch on December 23, 2012, on Little Saint James.

That morning, Lutnick’s wife wrote to Epstein’s secretary, ‘We are heading towards you from St. Thomas’ and asked where to anchor.

A day later, Epstein’s assistant sent Lutnick a follow-up note from Epstein that read in part, ‘Nice seeing you.’

In November 2015, Epstein’s assistant forwarded him an invitation from Lutnick to a fundraiser at his financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. 

Clinton would go on to lose to Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Campaign finance records showed Lutnick donated $2,700 to Clinton’s campaign, the maximum allowed by law at that time.

A Commerce Department spokesperson previously stated that Lutnick had ‘limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.’