Under-fire Trump commerce secretary confirms he visited Epstein's island

3 hours agoAna Faguy and Brandon Drenonon Capitol HillWatch: Lutnick confirms his family had lunch with Epstein on a visit to the late sex offender's islandUS Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has confirmed he visited Jeffrey Epstein's island in 2012, contradicting previous claims that he had cut ties with the sex offender years earlier, before he was convicted. "I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation," Lutnick testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. "My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies … We had lunch on the island. That is true. For an hour."Correspondence about the visit was included in Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice. Some lawmakers have called on Lutnick to resign, but on Tuesday the White House said he had the full support of US President Donald Trump.The commerce secretary had previously told Congress he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 after the late financier - a neighbour of Lutnick's in New York - used sexual innuendo to explain why he owned a massage table in a room of his home.In Tuesday's testimony, he said: "Over the next 14 years, I met him two other times that I can recall." The justice department files show Lutnick visited Epstein's Caribbean island on 23 December, 2012. That came four years after Epstein was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a child. Lutnick's testimony on Capitol Hill marked the first time he publicly confirmed the visit."I don't recall why we did it, but we did it," he said Tuesday, referring to the lunch. Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.The other time, outside of meeting Epstein on his island, was a year and a half after that when Lutnick said he had an hour-long meeting with Epstein. Lutnick noted that within the millions of pages of Epstein documents released by the justice department, roughly 10 emails connect him with Epstein. "Over a 14-year period, I did not have any relationship with him, I barely had anything to do with that person," he said. Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, grilled Lutnick about the conflicting accounts."The issue is not that you engaged in any wrongdoing in connection with Jeffrey Epstein, but that you totally misrepresented the extent of your relationship with him, to the Congress, to the American people and to the survivors of his despicable criminal and predatory acts," he said.Lutnick is among a series of high-profile people named in the more than 3.5 million documents that have been released by the justice department, as mandated by law. The revelation that he had visited Epstein's island long after he asserted that he had cut off contact has led to bipartisan calls for the commerce secretary to resign from the Trump administration. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the law that compelled the justice department to release the Epstein files last year, have both urged Lutnick to step down. Getty ImagesLutnick says he "did not have any relationship" with Epstein Khanna and Massie are continuing to pursue further disclosure. After viewing unredacted copies of the files, Khanna revealed the names of six other people on Tuesday that he says were improperly blacked out. Massie said they are "likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files".The BBC is contacting the people for comment. While Lutnick was testifying on one side of Capitol Hill, survivors of Epstein abuse gathered on the other to announce Virginia's Law, legislation that aims to remove the time limit for survivors of sexual abuse to file civil claims.The legislation is named for Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the most well-known survivors of Epstein's sexual abuse. She died by suicide in 2025.Giuffre's sister-in-law Amanda Roberts said her wish was to eliminate the statute of limitations. "No more laws that treat survivors as though time can erase harm," Roberts said, before adding: "Pass Virginia's Law."