After Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick Admits to Visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s Island in 2012, Rosen Calls for His Resignation

Senator Rosen Became First Member of The Senate Commerce Committee to Call for Lutnick's Resignation

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statement calling for the resignation of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after Lutnick's testimony to Congress confirming he visited Jeffrey Epstein's island in 2012, despite Lutnick's previous public claims that he cut off all contact with the convicted sex trafficker in 2005:

"As more files from the Jeffrey Epstein case are released, I'm sickened by the extent of Epstein's depravity and his connections to so many powerful people. Governments around the globe are being shaken by the mentions of their leaders in the Epstein files, and the United States should apply the same scrutiny to our leaders," said Senator Rosen. "I was appalled to see that Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick was included in the files, and to learn that he clearly misled the American people when he claimed he cut off all contact with Epstein in 2005. As he has now admitted to Congress, Howard Lutnick continued to have contact with Epstein well after he was convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor - and he even visited his island in 2012. I believe that to protect the trust of the American people and to uphold the honor of his office, Howard Lutnick must immediately resign as Secretary of Commerce."

In case you missed it from Axios: Dems demand Lutnick's resignation over Epstein files

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing growing calls from Capitol Hill to resign over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after files released last month showed the two were in contact with each other as recently as 2018.

• Why it matters: The blowback over Epstein that has been pointed at President Trump is now expanding to include a Cabinet official with close ties to the president.

• Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), a key Democratic moderate, told Axios on Tuesday that she was calling on Lutnick to resign. She's the first member of the Senate Commerce Committee to do so.
  
  
• Rosen joins a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House that urged Lutnick to resign this week, citing the Commerce secretary's relationship with Epstein.

• Still, Lutnick acknowledged visiting Epstein at his private island in 2012 after Epstein was a convicted sex offender.

• He said in a podcast interview last year that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005.

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