Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on both President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify about their relationships with Jeffery Epstein, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that said he’s working with a Republican colleague to subpoena Lutnick.
Khanna, a member of the House Oversight Committee, referenced former President Bill Clinton’s testimony before the committee last week, saying Clinton “set a precedent” for high-profile figures to testify.
“A new Clinton rule that means that Donald Trump should do the same — answer the questions. Howard Lutnick should do the same,” Khanna told “Meet the Press.” “I’m working with a Republican actually to subpoena Howard Lutnick next week, and I believe he will come before the committee.”
Khanna did not name the GOP lawmaker he is working with, but on Friday, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also a member of the House Oversight Committee, said she supported asking Lutnick to testify.
In the Justice Department’s latest release of Epstein files, emails between Lutnick and Epstein showed a longer history between the two men than was previously known, including coordination for a trip to Epstein’s infamous private island.
Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing related to his relationship with Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by authorities.
At a Senate hearing last month, Lutnick said there was nothing “untoward” about the trip and that his family was with him.
“My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple with, they were there as well, with their children, and we had lunch on the island — that is true — for an hour,” the commerce secretary said.
Trump also had a lengthy relationship with Epstein, but he has denied any wrongdoing related to the late convicted sex offender and former financier and hasn’t been charged with any crimes. The president has repeatedly maintained that he and Epstein had a “falling out” in the early 2000s, well before Epstein was ever charged with wrongdoing related to women and minors.
On Sunday, in response to a request for comment on Khanna's intent to subpoena Lutnick and desire for Trump to testify before Congress about his relationship with Epstein, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.”
“And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him,” Jackson said. “Meanwhile, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender.”
Officials from the Justice Department have denied that they are protecting the president from scrutiny when redacting and releasing Epstein files, but an NBC News analysis found that the Justice Department has not released notes and summaries of three separate interviews with a South Carolina woman who made sexual assault allegations against Epstein and sexual abuse allegations against Trump.
Last week, Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, testified separately before the House Oversight Committee about their relationships with Epstein.
In several files included in the releases, the former president was photographed alongside Epstein and with women whose faces were redacted.
In his testimony on Friday, Bill Clinton pledged that “I saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong” with Epstein. Clinton has maintained that he never visited Epstein’s island, and the former president has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
On Thursday, the former first lady and former secretary of state said that she “had no idea” about Epstein’s criminal activities at the time Bill Clinton knew him. Hillary Clinton added that she did “not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein.”
On Sunday, Khanna said that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee had “tougher questions” for the former president, who is also a Democrat, than Republicans on the committee did. He also commended Clinton for not pleading the Fifth.
“When the transcript comes out, I think people will see that he answered every question,” Khanna said, adding that “the American people will be able to decide on what they believe.”
