What's going on: Bipartisan calls for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s resignation intensified this week after newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents showed he remained in contact with the convicted sex offender as recently as 2018. Yes, that’s a decade after Epstein initially pleaded guilty to state charges — including soliciting prostitution from a child — and avoided federal prosecution through a secret deal. The revelations undercut Lutnick’s own public account. Last fall, he said on a podcast that after first meeting Epstein, he and his wife decided they would “never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.” But new information shows they didn’t follow through on that. When pressed during a Senate hearing yesterday, Lutnick responded: “I looked through the millions of documents for my name, just like everybody else.” Not exactly reassuring. Meanwhile, the White House is standing by its man so far.
Who else is involved: Of course, Lutnick is just one name in an appallingly long list that also includes President Donald Trump. The New York Times found 5,300 files containing more than 38,000 references to Trump, his wife, and Mar-a-Lago so far (though none included direct communication between the president and Epstein). Meanwhile, the latest release alone features three million pages of documents collected by the Justice Department, which recently unredacted six additional names after bipartisan pressure. One Democratic lawmaker read those names aloud on the House floor yesterday, including that of American billionaire Leslie Wexner of Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch. Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, entertainment and sports agent Casey Wasserman (who represented Chappell Roan until yesterday), and high-ranking former UK ambassador Peter Mandelson have been mentioned in other documents as of late. It’s worth noting, being named in the files doesn’t equate to criminal liability.
Up next: NBC News reports that all members of Congress will eventually gain access to the files. At least three million more documents remain sealed.The files have already triggered subpoenas and depositions, with former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton scheduled to be deposed later this month. Now, a House committee has subpoenaed Epstein’s accountant, lawyer, and Wexner. As this unfolds, Democrats have just introduced “Virginia’s Law” alongside Virginia Giuffre’s family and other Epstein victims.
