Lutnick's Epstein Ties Questioned Amid Commerce Secretary Vetting

0:00On April 7, Howard Lutnik, Trump's pick for Commerce Secretary, faces questions over his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein. There were long time neighbors in New York, and Lutnik says he cut off contact after a disturbing house tour in 2005 with his wife. But newly released court files show he attended an event at Epstein's place in 2011 and had lunch there with his family on Epstein's. Private Island in 2012. Epstein got convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution, yet Lutnik kept those limited contacts years later. He's sitting for a voluntary transcribe interview about it all, and there's zero public evidence linking him to Epstein's crimes. Lutnik denies any wrongdoing, insisting he had nothing to hide. No one's accused him of involvement in the sex trafficking mess. President Trump jumped in to defend him, calling Lutnik a very innocent guy, doing a good job. Trump told reporters, Lutnik would handle the committee questions just fine. Trump admitted he didn't know about that island lunch until it hit the news,

1:01but he's backing Lutnik's full cooperation and strong performance either. Way, this story's still unfolding as the betting process rolls on. That's the story for today. U.S. News Today, driven by AI. I'm Cory with the story.