Madeleine Dean Clashes With Lutnick Over His Ties To Jeffrey Epstein, Alleged Tariff Refund Plan

[0:00] Thank you, Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Meng, Ranking Member DeLauro. [0:09] Good afternoon, Secretary Lutnik. [0:12] Last Tuesday, I had the chance to attend a breakfast for RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, Incest [0:19] National Network. [0:21] It was their Congressional Day of Action. [0:24] Survivors came to me, told me their horrific stories. [0:27] And the survivors I spoke with had one message. [0:31] They're seeking accountability and justice. [0:34] After speaking with the survivors, I again went to the Department of Justice to review [0:39] the unredacted Epstein files to seek accountability and justice for the victims, the more than [0:46] 1,000 victims and survivors. [0:49] And today, Secretary Lutnik, I have some questions for you about what I saw. [0:54] Let's start with your relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. [0:58] On October, in October, you told the New York Post with colorful narration that the last [1:03] time you saw Jeffrey Epstein was in 2005, when you took a tour of his house, which happened [1:09] to be right next door to yours. [1:11] You claim you and your wife were so grossed out by this disgusting person, you swore you [1:16] would never go back. [1:18] But when the Epstein files came out, it turned out that was a lie. [1:22] You were forced to admit that you had visited Epstein's private island in 2012, four years [1:28] after Epstein pled guilty soliciting a minor for prostitution and was labeled a sex offender. [1:35] You brought along your wife, your kids, your nannies to the predator's island. [1:40] Incredibly poor judgment. [1:41] But that even wasn't the whole truth. [1:43] It turns out that five days after visiting his island, you and Epstein signed a business [1:48] deal together. [1:50] As co-investors in a digital advertising company, Adfin, an email showed you stayed in touch with [1:57] Epstein about this deal as late as 2018. [2:02] Secretary Lutnik, why did you lie to the New York Post about your relationship with Jeffrey [2:07] Epstein? [2:12] Oh, I did hear that. [2:13] Please don't repeat your gracious offer to speak behind closed doors, not under oath, [2:19] without the ability of this committee to question you. [2:22] The American people wants to know, why did you lie about your relationship with Epstein? [2:27] The House Oversight Committee, and I have agreed, we will spend the time together. [2:34] Reclaiming my time, I do not accept that answer. [2:37] We've heard that one. [2:38] We are our own committee. [2:40] We have our own reason to test your credibility and veracity. [2:45] Please answer the question. [2:46] Why did you lie to the Post? [2:49] I have voluntarily agreed to spend the time and talk about it. [2:54] I reclaim the time. [2:56] Let the record reflect you're dodging the question. [2:59] The cover-up continues. [3:01] You know what? [3:02] In your conversations with the president, is the president concerned about your continued [3:06] relationship that you had with Mr. Epstein as recently as 2018? [3:14] I am not going to discuss conversations I have with the president. [3:17] That is not something I'm going to do. [3:19] If you remember in that interview, you said you would never be in the room with him socially [3:26] for business or even philanthropy. [3:29] President Trump has just fired three cabinet secretaries, three women, Kristi Noem, Pam [3:33] Bondi, Laurie Chavez de Reamer. [3:35] If President Trump has even a shred of concern about accountability for Jeffrey Epstein's enablers, [3:42] he would fire you too. [3:45] Beyond ADFIN, what other financial ties do you have to Jeffrey Epstein? [3:53] As I said, I'm going to answer all these questions. [3:56] Beyond ADFIN, what other financial ties? [3:58] You're the Commerce Secretary. [4:00] We have a right to ask this question and get it answered. [4:02] Again, I'm not going to spend the budget day discussing something I've set aside time [4:09] to spend on this topic with your House colleagues. [4:12] Let me switch topics. [4:14] A different and equally disturbing issue, how your family is profiting from your work as [4:21] Commerce Secretary. [4:22] Let's start with tariffs. [4:24] You and the president illegally imposed the highest tariffs on the American people since the [4:28] Great Depression and your sons figured out how to profit from the high tariffs by buying [4:34] up refund rights, pennies on the dollar, just as you are out there cheerleading the tariffs. [4:42] As a result, federal taxpayers like my constituents may now owe your family tens of or hundreds of [4:49] millions of dollars. [4:50] I wonder if President Trump is concerned about you and your family profiteering off the illegal [4:57] tariffs. [4:58] You know that that is false. [5:01] Here's reporting. [5:02] I'd like to put it in the record. [5:04] Howard Lutnick's old firm did not, in fact, profit from Supreme Court tariff ruling. [5:09] It is just not true. [5:10] It's your son's. [5:11] It's your son's. [5:12] The reporting is- [5:13] No, no. [5:14] His old firm and my son's. [5:15] It is not true. [5:16] Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time. [5:17] And you know it's not true. [5:18] It's not true. [5:19] Mr. Chairman, reclaiming about 20 seconds, I hope you recognize how fundamentally wrong [5:26] and corrupt this is. [5:28] I hope you take accountability and have the decency to resign before you are fired. [5:35] It's not true. [5:36] I yield. [5:37] It's not true. [5:41] It's not true. [5:42] It's not true.