US Commerce Secretary Lutnick says no ties to Epstein amid calls for him to resign
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US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sought to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, saying he had “nothing to do” with the convicted sex offender amid calls for him to resign over new revelations about the pair’s relationship.
The US Justice Department in January published millions of new files related to Epstein, including emails showing that Lutnick apparently visited Epstein’s private island for lunch years after he said he had ended the relationship. Lutnick is facing calls from Democrats and some Republicans to resign.
Lutnick backtracked on the Senate floor, saying the two men exchanged only about 10 emails over 14 years and that the lunch with Epstein only happened because Lutnick was on a boat near his island, adding that his family was there.
“I had no relationship with him. I had absolutely nothing to do with that person,” he told a Senate committee during questioning by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen.
The hearing comes a day after Epstein’s consultant, Ghislaine Maxwell, refused to answer questions during a hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, according to lawmakers, drawing criticism from Republican and Democratic committee members.
Immigration chiefs will testify in Congress
Meanwhile, the heads of the agencies that run the mass deportation program of American President Donald Trump will testify in Congress today and face questions about how they prosecute immigrants in American cities.
Trump’s immigration campaign has been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks, following the death of two protesters in Minneapolis at the hands of Homeland Security officials. The organizations have also faced a wave of criticism for policies that critics say trample on the rights of immigrants facing detention and Americans who oppose enforcement actions.
Todd Lyons, acting director of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Rodney Scott, director of US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), will speak before the House committee on homeland security.
Officials will speak at a time of declining public support for how their organizations are implementing Trump’s immigration agenda, but as they are flush with money from a spending bill passed last year that helped expand immigration enforcement operations across the country.
The administration says that activists and protesters who are against its operation are the ones who plan the attacks on their officials, not the other way around, and that their operations to ensure immigration make the country safer by finding and removing people who have committed crimes or who threaten the country.
Under Lyons’ leadership, ICE received a major hiring freeze funded by Congress last summer and immigration officials have invested in increased enforcement operations in American cities designed to increase arrests and deportations. His appearance in Congress comes as lawmakers wrangle over whether DHS should be funded without restrictions on the conduct of its officials.
Lyons is likely to face questions about a memo he signed last year telling ICE officials he didn’t need a warrant to enter a home to arrest a deportee — a memo that contradicts ICE’s age-old mandate and Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches.
Retired FBI agent Daniel Brunner says the claims made by officials directly contradict eyewitness videos of the fatal shooting by immigration officers in Minneapolis.
Under the leadership of Gregory Bovino, a team of US Border Patrol agents roamed the country to work in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans, where they were often accused of indiscriminately questioning and arresting people they suspected of being in the country illegally. Bovino says his targets are legitimate and intelligence-driven, and when his officers use force to make arrests, it’s because it’s necessary.
During Scott’s tenure, his organization played a major role in arresting and deporting illegal immigrants. That expanded role has become a source of controversy and marks a break from the agency’s normal work of securing borders and controlling who and what enters the country.
A Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection officer both opened fire during the shooting death of Alex Pretti, one of two protesters killed in Minneapolis in January. Another protester, Renee Good, was shot and killed by an ICE officer.
After Pretti’s firing, Bovino was reassigned and Trump sent his border boss Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take charge.
USCIS has also faced criticism for actions it has taken, including subjecting refugees who have been admitted to the US to another round of review and freeze decisions on all asylum cases.
