- According to legal expert Lisa Rubin, President Donald Trump won't remove Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick due to his lies about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, as Trump fears it would shift focus to his own extensive ties with the accused sex trafficker, with Rubin stating "if we put the focus on somebody like Howard Lutnick... our eyes would automatically turn back to the person who has demonstrably, much more extensive ties with Jeffrey Epstein."
- Lutnick, who claimed he and his wife vowed never to enter Epstein's home again in 2005, was found to have visited Epstein's island for lunch, contradicting his public statements, with MS NOW's Nicolle Wallace questioning the sustainability of Lutnick's position in Trump's Cabinet.
- A 2019 FBI interview with former Palm Beach police chief Michael Ryder revealed that Donald Trump told him "everybody knew what [Epstein] was doing, it was disgusting, and Ghislaine Maxwell is evil," highlighting Trump's own knowledge of Epstein's activities, and raising questions about what would happen if Lutnick were to face consequences, as Rubin notes "if Howard Lutnick falls, what does that say about Trump?"
EPSTEIN FILES NOTES
2 individuals mentioned in this article appear in the Epstein files:
Donald Trump appeared in flight logs, black book, emails, and photos released by the DOJ.
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy, Epstein's primary associate.
