White House Defends Trump as Epstein Files Put US Commerce Secy Lutnick Under Fire

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump had been consistent in cutting ties with Jeffrey Epstein, asserting that Trump expelled the disgraced financier from his Mar-a-Lago club because he was a “creep” and had remained transparent about their relationship for years.

Addressing a press briefing, Leavitt said the recent release of Epstein-related documents underscored the administration’s commitment to transparency.

"And unlike many other people who are named in these files, President Trump cut off his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and was honest and transparent about that for years and years. I think what the president has said all along has always remained true," she added.

"The release of more than three million documents related to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous, disgusting crimes just shows the level of transparency that this president and administration have committed to in bringing these files to light,” Leavitt said.

The Justice Department in January released millions of new files related to Epstein, including emails that showed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apparently visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island for lunch in 2012, years after he claimed to have cut off ties.

Lutnick, appointed to his post by Trump last year, is facing calls from both Democrats and Republicans to resign.

Senate Majority Leader Calls for Full Disclosure, Says Public Will Judge Lutnick

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Lutnick would have to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein, but argued it was ultimately up to the American people to judge the sufficiency of those answers.

“I think it’s going to be ultimately what happens there is probably going to be up to American people. And what I’ve been for, and I’ve been very clear about this from the outset, is full disclosure. Get the information out there, let’s have transparency. And I think that’s being done,” Thune told reporters when asked about Lutnick, as quoted by CNN.

“For people whose names appear, or in some context might be in the Epstein files, they’re going to have to answer the questions around that. And I think the American people are going to have to make judgments about whether or not they think those answers are sufficient,” he added, according to CNN.

Lutnick sought to distance himself from Epstein during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, alleging he “barely had anything to do with” the financier and convicted sex offender.

“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person,” Lutnick told a Senate panel under questioning by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Lutnick Denies Close Ties, Details Limited Contacts With Epstein

He said he and Epstein had exchanged about 10 emails and met three times over 14 years. Lutnick maintained that the 2012 lunch took place only because he was on a boat near the island and said his family was present.

Lutnick also said he had no knowledge of Epstein being interested in meeting his nanny.

The newly released documents also showed that Epstein’s assistant forwarded Lutnick an invitation to a fundraiser in November 2015 at his financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Trump went on to defeat Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election. Lutnick did not address apparent contradictions between the documents and his prior remarks during his testimony, cited by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff in calling for his resignation.

Lutnick had previously claimed he vowed never to “be in a room” with Epstein following a 2005 incident in which the financier showed him a massage table at his townhouse and made a sexually suggestive comment.

Documents Highlight Proximity Between Epstein and Lutnick in New York

The documents also noted that Epstein lived next door to the former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO in New York at the time.

Republican Representative Tom Massie told CNN on Sunday that Lutnick should “make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign.”

“I know and my wife knows that I have done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard,” Lutnick said at the hearing.

The scrutiny over Lutnick comes as Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions at a deposition before a U.S. House of Representatives panel a day earlier, according to lawmakers, drawing criticism from both Republican and Democratic members of the committee.

(With inputs from ANI)