Accused of getting had hyperlinks with Jeffrey Epstein, the American Minister of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, denies any proximity; Donald Trump “totally” helps him | EUROtoday

The American Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, defended himself, Tuesday February 10, of getting been in extended contact with the intercourse legal Jeffrey Epstein, whereas his identify appeared within the investigation recordsdata, triggering requires his resignation. “I have barely seen this person in fourteen years”assured Mr. Lutnick throughout a Senate listening to, referring to a interval starting in 2005 when he turned neighbors with the intercourse legal in New York.

“I had lunch with him [sur l’île]while I was spending a family vacation on a boat. My wife was with me, as well as my four children and their nannies”he stated, saying the go to lasted an hour. Another doc mentions a lunch between the 2 males in New York in 2011. “Like everyone else, I searched my name in the millions of published documents and saw that one document mentioned a meeting in May (2011), I believe, for an hour at most”Mr. Lutnick defended himself, including that his identify appeared in “around ten emails” to the utmost.

The White House expressed its assist for the minister on Tuesday, with a spokesperson guaranteeing that “the entire government, including Secretary Lutnick, is focused on serving the interests of the American people”. Again Tuesday, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated Howard Lutnick “rest[ait] a very important member of President Trump’s team” and that “the president supports[enait] totally the minister ».

“He must resign immediately”

Several elected officials accuse the Secretary of Commerce of having lied when he previously claimed to have cut ties more than twenty years ago with Jeffrey Epstein. Calls for the minister’s resignation have been increasing since the publication by the Ministry of Justice of a mountain of documents reporting in particular a visit by Mr. Lutnick to Jeffrey Epstein’s island in December 2012.

“Mr. Lutnick should not be in charge of our Commerce Department, he must resign immediately”Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said Monday. Republican elected official Thomas Massie, for his part, judged on Sunday that the Secretary of Commerce “had to make life easier for the president and simply resign”.

Close personally to Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick was head of the financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald before joining the government last year, after the Republican billionaire’s return to the Oval Office.