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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will testify May 6 in a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight Committee on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, part of itsongoing investigationinto the federal government's handling of cases involving the late convicted sex offender and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
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The extent of Lutnick's relationship with Epstein came under heavy scrutiny after he gave contradictory statements about his ties to the disgraced financier. Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing.
Lutnick's voluntary, closed-door deposition is one of several sought by the Republican-controlled House committee.
A number of powerful figures from across the political spectrum and in finance, entertainment and beyond, have emerged in documents, pictures and emails from the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice. Inclusion in the files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing, but the fallout has led to resignations and calls for more accountability.
Other notable figures who have provided testimony to the committee includeformer President Bill Clinton,former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,billionaire Les Wexnerand Ted Waitt, Maxwell's ex-boyfriend.
Lutnick was a one-time neighbor of Epstein's. Emails between the two, revealed in one of the congressionally-required releases of Department of Justice files on the investigations, contradicted the commerce secretary's previous statements about their relationship.
READ MORE:Epstein files reveal close ties to Trump's influential inner circle
Lutnick, who has faced calls for his resignation from several Democrats, is among a handful of Trump administration officials todraw scrutinyover his connections to Epstein.
Lutnick once said he had cut off all contact with Epstein in 2005 — before the financier's 2008 conviction onstate-level sex offense charges, including soliciting prostitution from a minor.
In a 2025 interviewon "Pod Force Once with Miranda Devine," Lutnick described meeting Epstein when the two became neighbors in 2005.
