{"id":2568440,"date":"2026-02-10T15:59:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-stands-by-howard-lutnick-as-epstein-files-fallout-grows\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:01:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T21:01:31","slug":"white-house-stands-by-howard-lutnick-as-epstein-files-fallout-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-stands-by-howard-lutnick-as-epstein-files-fallout-grows\/","title":{"rendered":"White House stands by Howard Lutnick as Epstein files fallout grows"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhite-house-stands-by-howard-lutnick-as-epstein-files-fallout-grows%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2568440&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The White House is defending Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick amid bipartisan calls for his resignation over ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Newly released epstein files show Lutnick planned to visit Epstein\u2019s island in 2012 after claiming he and his wife had cut ties with Epstein in 2005, and they indicate he remained in contact with Epstein after Epstein\u2019s 2008 conviction. Lutnick testified before a Senate appropriations panel that he met Epstein only a few times over 14 years and even had lunch on Epstein\u2019s island with his family, insisting he did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n<p>White House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-say-bidens-female-led-comms-is-a-first-trump-has-that-now\/\" title=\"Media Say Biden&#039;s Female-Led Comms Is A First. ... Has That Now\">press secretary<\/a> Karoline leavitt said Lutnick remains an crucial part of President Trump\u2019s team and that the president fully supports him, emphasizing transparency after more than 3 million Epstein documents were released. The story notes bipartisan calls for Lutnick\u2019s resignation from some lawmakers, while others, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, defended him or urged careful accountability. Lawmakers are beginning to review the unredacted Epstein files released to Congress, as Lutnick\u2019s ties to Epstein continue to draw scrutiny alongside other cabinet members.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">White House stands by Howard Lutnick as Epstein files fallout grows<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2500396\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> administration is defending Commerce Secretary&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/howard-lutnick\/\">Howard Lutnick<\/a>&nbsp;against bipartisan calls for the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cabinet\/\">Cabinet<\/a> secretary to resign due to his ties to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-releases-33000-pages-of-epstein-files-from-doj\/\" title=\"House releases 33,000 pages of ... from DOJ\">convicted sex offender&#038;nbsp<\/a>;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The latest trove of Epstein files released by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a> showed that Lutnick planned to visit Epstein&rsquo;s island in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012 after claiming that he and his wife cut ties with the disgraced financier in 2005. Uncovered emails show that Lutnick kept in touch with Epstein after his 2008 conviction in Florida.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4453068\/white-house-confirms-trump-floated-renaming-penn-station-dulles-airport-after-himself\/\">White House confirms Trump &#8216;floated&#8217; renaming Penn Station and Dulles Airport after himself<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4452844\/ice-leader-todd-lyons-declines-defend-kristi-noem-amid-calls-for-resignation\/\">ICE leader Todd Lyons declines to defend Kristi Noem amid calls for her resignation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4452963\/watch-live-leavitt-holds-a-white-house-press-briefing\/\">WATCH LIVE: Karoline Leavitt holds White House <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-extends-southern-california-stay-at-home-order-for-at-least-another-three-weeks\/\" title=\"Newsom Extends Southern California Stay-at-Home Order For at Least Another Three Weeks\">press briefing<\/a><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Both men signed a document on behalf of limited liability companies to acquire stakes in the advertising technology company Adfin, which would later shutter, in December 2012.<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a> was asked whether there has been any shift in how the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\">White House <\/a>is viewing the secretary, who testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; Leavitt said during Tuesday&rsquo;s press briefing. &ldquo;Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump&rsquo;s team, and the president fully supports the secretary.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Lutnick defended himself during a Tuesday morning testimony to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> committee on appropriations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To the best of my memory, I met him when he moved next door to me, and I met him two other times in 14 years, none within six years of that first meeting,&rdquo; Lutnick told Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chris-coons\/\">Chris Coons<\/a> (D-DE). &ldquo;And then a year and a half later, and none thereafter, and in the presence of my wife. And as[Sen[Sen<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/chris-van-hollen\/\">Chris Van Hollen<\/a> (D-MD)]said, under no circumstances is there a single word that I&rsquo;ve done anything remotely wrong in any possible regard.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I did not have &hellip; anything you could call a relationship, anything you call an acquaintance,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;I literally met him three times over 14 years with wide spread in between. That&rsquo;s all I can remember. That&rsquo;s all there is in the documents.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Lutnick also told Van Hollen that he and his family indeed had lunch on Epstein&rsquo;s island in the U.S. Virgin Islands while on vacation. &ldquo;My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They were there as well with their children, and we had lunch on the island.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Leavitt defended Trump&rsquo;s insistence that he cut ties with Epstein after a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4452111\/trump-palm-beach-police-epstein\/\">2019 FBI report revealed<\/a> Trump allegedly called a Palm Beach, Florida, police chief in 2006 to express gratitude for &ldquo;stopping&rdquo; Epstein. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What I will say is that the president has always remained consistent, and that he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club at Mar-a-Lago. Because, frankly, Jeffrey Epstein was a creep,&rdquo; Leavitt said. &ldquo;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.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Leavitt did not explicitly confirm that the phone call between Trump and the police chief took place, but she did tout the administration&rsquo;s transparency with the release of more than 3 million documents related to Epstein.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Look, it was a phone call that may or may not have happened in 2006,&rdquo; Leavitt said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know the answer to that question.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The press secretary also claimed that she had not had a discussion with the president about a pardon for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ghislaine-maxwell\/\">Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>, a convicted associate of&nbsp;Epstein. Maxwell&rsquo;s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, claimed she would be interested in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4451293\/ghislaine-maxwell-clemency-trump-clinton-innocent\/\">clemency-for-cooperation deal<\/a>&nbsp;that would clear both Trump and former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\">Bill Clinton<\/a> of uncouth allegations during her deposition with lawmakers on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Rep.&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/thomas-massie\/\">Thomas Massie<\/a>&nbsp;(R-KY), a frequent Trump foe, is among the growing number of lawmakers, mostly Democrats, who have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4450426\/massie-lutnick-resign-epstein-files-business\/\">called on Lutnick to resign<\/a> despite the Commerce Department&rsquo;s brushing off the ties with Epstein. Massie, along with Rep.&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ro-khanna\/\">Ro Khanna<\/a>&nbsp;(D-CA), led the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massie-calls-for-lutnicks-resignation-after-files-unveil-epstein-ties\/\" title=\"Massie calls for Lutnick&#039;s ...ation after ... unveil ... ...\">bipartisan effort forcing<\/a> the DOJ to release the Epstein files.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I believe that Lutnick, at the very least, needs to be brought before <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a>,&rdquo; Khanna told reporters this week. &ldquo;I think, based on the evidence, he should be out of the Cabinet.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>House Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (D-CA) strongly echoed the calls for Lutnick to resign at a press conference on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He went into business with Jeffrey Epstein, he visited Epstein Island, and Howard Lutnick did this knowing how evil Epstein was,&rdquo; Lieu said. &ldquo;Lutnick also lied to the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, House Speaker <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\">Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-LA) told reporters he did not think Lutnick should resign. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Of course not. It&rsquo;s absurd,&rdquo; Johnson said. &ldquo;Howard Lutnick is a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >great commerce secretary<\/a>. He&rsquo;s done an extraordinary job for the country, and Thomas Massie should stop playing political games.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Senate Majority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-thune\/\">John Thune<\/a> (R-SD) took a more measured response about the future of Lutnick&rsquo;s career: &ldquo;Transparency is something we all ought to aspire to here, and if there are folks who are named in there or discussed in there in some way, they&rsquo;re going to have to answer for that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>These calls from Congress come as a handful of members have ventured to the DOJ to review the unredacted&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/epstein-files\/\">Epstein files<\/a>,&nbsp;made available to lawmakers in their entirety for the first time this week. Khanna and Massie were among the first to begin the long process of sorting through the millions of documents, as Lieu pledged to look through them as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4452417\/howard-lutnick-downplays-epstein-relations-senate-testimony\/\">HOWARD LUTNICK DOWNPLAYS EPSTEIN RELATIONS: &lsquo;BARELY HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT PERSON&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Lutnick is the latest Cabinet secretary engulfed in scandal, joining Labor Secretary&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lori-chavez-deremer\/\">Lori Chavez-DeRemer<\/a>, Transportation Secretary&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sean-duffy\/\">Sean Duffy<\/a>, Veterans Affairs Secretary&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/doug-collins\/\">Doug Collins<\/a>, and Homeland Security Secretary&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kristi-noem\/\">Kristi Noem<\/a>, all of whom have been under scrutiny over the past two months.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has stood by all his embattled secretaries, refusing to raise the possibility that he would dismiss them from their positions.<\/p>\n<p><em>Rachel Schilke and David Sivak contributed to this report. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>White House backs Lutnick amid Epstein ties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4098,"featured_media":2568441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/WEX_LUTNICK-15-e1770740311537.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[73512,59959,14552,45157,32127],"class_list":["post-2568440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-cantor-fitzgerald","tag-epstein-scandal","tag-fallout","tag-howard-lutnick","tag-white-house"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/WEX_LUTNICK-15-e1770740311537.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4098"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2568440"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2568444,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568440\/revisions\/2568444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2568441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2568440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2568440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2568440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}