Overview
- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified he lunched on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012 and met him in 2011, reversing prior claims that he cut ties after 2005 while insisting the contact was minimal.
- Republican Thomas Massie and Democrats including Ro Khanna and Adam Schiff urged Lutnick to resign, as the White House press secretary said President Trump fully supports the Commerce chief.
- The Justice Department’s publication of roughly three million Epstein-related pages is under review by lawmakers, with Massie saying he identified at least six redacted men and threatening to name them using congressional privilege if DOJ does not lift the redactions.
- An FBI interview summary released in the files quotes former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter recalling a 2006 call in which Trump said, “Thank God you are stopping him. Everybody knows what he’s been doing,” raising questions about Trump’s later public denials of prior knowledge.
- Pressed on broader fallout, the White House said a possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell is not a priority and declined to affirm the reported 2006 call, reiterating that Trump broke with Epstein.