Afrasianet - U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has faced sharp criticism from congressional Democrats over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, with several of them accusing him of misleading the public and calling for his resignation.
A House oversight committee is investigating the network surrounding Epstein, the businessman who died in prison in 2019, including how he made his fortune and whether influential people helped protect him.
Documents released earlier this year showed that Lutnick had maintained contacts with Epstein for longer than he had previously admitted.
During a Senate hearing, Lutnick said he visited Epstein's private island in the Caribbean in 2012, years after Epstein was convicted in 2008 of minor-related sex crimes.
Lutnick denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not witness any criminal activity during the family visit.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said Lutnick had tried to rephrase earlier statements in which he said he would never want to be in the same room with Epstein after the 2005 meeting.
Republican lawmaker: Epstein's case remains vague
In this context, Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massey considered that the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein still lacks clarity.
In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Massey said that the most important category of material related to the Epstein case is those that are still classified as "classified."
"It doesn't matter if there are three million files or three hundred, they all have to be published," he said.
Among these documents are internal agency memos regarding how decisions are made whether or not to conduct investigations under the Epstein case.
Al-Jumhouri added: "At the moment, the Attorney General refers to the so-called privilege of the consultative process.
This privilege is used when it is intended to prevent the disclosure of documents under the Freedom of Information Act, or to edit them by withholding part of their text."
It is known that in 2019, Epstein was charged in the United States with trafficking minors for the purpose of sexually exploiting them, conspiring to commit this crime, and was facing a prison sentence of more than 40 years.
At the end of July 2019, Epstein was found in his cell "almost unconscious" and later died. Investigations showed that he committed suicide.
