Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick agreed to testify as part of the House Oversight Committee's investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the committee's chair said Tuesday on X.
Lutnick "has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee. I look forward to his testimony," Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., wrote.
At a Senate hearing last month, Lutnick acknowledged visiting Epstein's island in 2012 but denied any wrongdoing in connection with the late convicted sex offender, his former neighbor.
Lutnick told Axis, which first reported news of his testimony: “I look forward to appearing before the committee. I have done nothing wrong and I want to set the record straight."
The White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
No date was announced for the interview, which comes after files the Justice Department released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act showed that Lutnick had more ties to Epstein than were previously known.
Comer also requested transcribed interviews for seven key witnesses, including Bill Gates and Kathryn Ruemmler, who have both come under scrutiny after the Justice Department released emails from the Epstein files showing their ties to the late convicted sex offender.
The requests, which were sent to each of the witnesses in letters, are for voluntary interviews. No subpoenas were issued.
Neither Gates nor Ruemmler have been accused by authorities of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
Lutnick had told the New York Post in October that he thought Epstein was “disgusting” and that he had wanted nothing to do with him after Epstein, a politically connected financier, made an inappropriate remark while he and his wife visited Epstein's townhouse in 2005.
“So I was never in the room with him socially, for business or even philanthropy. That guy was there, I wasn’t going ’cause he is gross,” Lutnick told the paper.
The files, however, showed Lutnick and Epstein emailing in 2012 about a possible boat trip to Epstein’s private island and then appearing to invite Epstein to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in 2015.
Lutnick's agency initially sidestepped questions about whether he took the boat trip, but Lutnick acknowledged he had during the Senate hearing last month.
“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,” he said.
He said there was nothing “untoward” about the trip but could not recall why they took it.
The Commerce Department has not responded to inquiries about the fundraising email. The committee deposed Clinton last week, and she said that she had gotten to know Lutnick after his financial firm lost hundreds of employees during the 9/11 terrorist attacks but that she'd never met Epstein. She has never been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The Commerce Department said in a statement after the emails were released that “Secretary Lutnick had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”
