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The US commerce secretary and general counsel of Goldman Sachs have agreed to testify to Congress over their ties Jeffrey Epstein, as the furore over the late child sex offender envelops figures from Washington to Wall Street.
James Comer, chair of the House oversight committee, announced on Tuesday that Howard Lutnick would appear before lawmakers, making the commerce secretary the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to face questions from the panel on links to Epstein.
It also emerged on Tuesday that Kathy Ruemmler, the general counsel of Goldman Sachs who has said she would step down in June after facing scrutiny over her ties to Epstein, had also agreed to testify before the committee.
Lutnick had initially sought to minimise his interactions with Epstein but the trove of documents released by the Justice Department in recent weeks revealed more extensive contacts than the commerce secretary had suggested. These included a family visit to Epstein’s island in the Caribbean Sea in 2012.
“Secretary Lutnick has proactively agreed to appear voluntarily before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,” Comer said in a statement. “I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the committee. I look forward to his testimony.”
The Commerce department did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Ruemmler, who served in Barack Obama’s administration as a senior lawyer, said she “welcomed the opportunity” to face the lawmakers.
“At the time she interacted with Jeffrey Epstein, she was a practising criminal defence attorney and shared a client with him. She has done nothing wrong and had no knowledge of any ongoing criminal activity on his part,” the Ruemmler spokesperson said.
Earlier this month Bill Clinton, the former president, and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, appeared before the panel to take questions over their own ties to Epstein, as the most high-profile Democrats to face scrutiny over the late sex offender.
Bill Clinton said he “saw nothing” and “did nothing wrong” during his “brief acquaintance” with Epstein, while Hillary Clinton accused Republican lawmakers of “partisan political theatre” and seeking to protect Trump in the closed-door depositions.
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