Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on both President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify about their relationships with Jeffery Epstein, telling NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on Sunday that said he\u2019s working with a Republican colleague to subpoena Lutnick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khanna, a member of the House Oversight Committee, referenced former President Bill Clinton\u2019s testimony before the committee last week, saying Clinton \u201cset a precedent\u201d for high-profile figures to testify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA new Clinton rule that means that Donald Trump should do the same \u2014 answer the questions. Howard Lutnick should do the same,\u201d Khanna told \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m working with a Republican actually to subpoena Howard Lutnick next week, and I believe he will come before the committee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khanna did not name the GOP lawmaker he is working with, but on Friday, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also a member of the House Oversight Committee, said she supported asking Lutnick to testify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Justice Department\u2019s latest release of Epstein files, emails between Lutnick and Epstein showed a longer history between the two men than was previously known, including coordination for a trip to Epstein\u2019s infamous private island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing related to his relationship with Epstein and has not been accused of any crimes by authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a Senate hearing last month, Lutnick said there was nothing \u201cuntoward\u201d about the trip and that his family was with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple with, they were there as well, with their children, and we had lunch on the island \u2014 that is true \u2014 for an hour,\u201d the commerce secretary said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also had a lengthy relationship with Epstein, but he has denied any wrongdoing related to the late convicted sex offender and former financier and hasn\u2019t been charged with any crimes. The president has repeatedly maintained that he and Epstein had a \u201cfalling out\u201d in the early 2000s, well before Epstein was ever charged with wrongdoing related to women and minors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, in response to a request for comment on Khanna’s intent to subpoena Lutnick and desire for Trump to testify before Congress about his relationship with Epstein, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, \u201cJust as President Trump has said, he\u2019s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee\u2019s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein\u2019s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein\u2019s victims than anyone before him,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cMeanwhile, Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Stacey Plaskett have yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials from the Justice Department have denied that they are protecting the president from scrutiny when redacting and releasing Epstein files, but an NBC News analysis found that the Justice Department has not released notes and summaries of three separate interviews with a South Carolina woman who made sexual assault allegations against Epstein and sexual abuse allegations against Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, testified separately before the House Oversight Committee about their relationships with Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In several files included in the releases, the former president was photographed alongside Epstein and with women whose faces were redacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his testimony on Friday, Bill Clinton pledged that \u201cI saw nothing\u201d and \u201cdid nothing wrong\u201d with Epstein. Clinton has maintained that he never visited Epstein\u2019s island, and the former president has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, the former first lady and former secretary of state said that she \u201chad no idea\u201d about Epstein\u2019s criminal activities at the time Bill Clinton knew him. Hillary Clinton added that she did \u201cnot recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Sunday, Khanna said that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee had \u201ctougher questions\u201d for the former president, who is also a Democrat, than Republicans on the committee did. He also commended Clinton for not pleading the Fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen the transcript comes out, I think people will see that he answered every question,\u201d Khanna said, adding that \u201cthe American people will be able to decide on what they believe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n