Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to appear for House Epstein probe, Comer says

Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will appear voluntarily before the House Oversight Committee for its probe into Jeffrey Epstein.

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., confirmed Lutnick's appearance in a statement sent to Fox News Digital and other outlets on Tuesday.

"Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform," Comer said. "I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee. I look forward to his testimony."

Lutnick is one of several high-profile people in business, entertainment and politics whose name has come up in the trove of Epstein files being released by the federal government.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick arrives for an EU Trade Ministers meeting at the Europa building, the EU Council headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, on Nov. 24, 2025. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

Recently released photos showing him with Epstein have also served to heap scrutiny on the businessman-turned-Trump administration official, though Lutnick has denied any improper ties related to Epstein.

The White House also defended Lutnick when asked about his upcoming appearance.

"Secretary Lutnick continues to be a critical asset for President Trump, having played a key role in securing major trade and investment deals. The entire Trump administration, including Secretary Lutnick, remains focused on delivering more wins for the American people," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Commerce Department for comment.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speaks to reporters after a closed-door deposition with Ghislaine Maxwell, the former girlfriend and confidante of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 9, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Speculation around Lutnick's Epstein ties took center stage last week when former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared before the panel under subpoena for their own sworn depositions.

Unlike them, Lutnick was not subpoenaed and is appearing voluntarily.

Bill Clinton told the Oversight Committee he did not "remember ever having any conversation with him about Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell."

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Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein's years of abuse of underage girls.  (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton got into a heated back-and-forth with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., over her own relationship with Lutnick. 

Mace had asked Clinton about her relationship with Lutnick. The former secretary of state insisted her relationship with him went as far as recovery efforts from the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, when she had been a senator from New York and Lutnick was a businessman who lost hundreds of employees when planes hit the World Trade Center.

Mace suggested on X earlier on Tuesday that she would have moved to have Lutnick subpoenaed by the committee, shortly before Comer's statement came out.

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