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Rutnick had multiple interactions with Epstein in the past... His position draws attention amidst calls for his resignation from the opposition.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Rutnick appeared at a closed-door hearing of the House Oversight Committee on the 'Epstein allegations' on the 6th (local time).
A Commerce Department spokesperson told the media that day, "Secretary (Rutnick) will voluntarily testify before the Oversight Committee and answer any questions on the official record."
He added, "The Secretary hopes to put an end to the inaccurate and baseless claims made by the media to divert attention from his historic work ongoing at the Commerce Department."
Secretary Rutnick is embroiled in controversy as his name appears in over 250 documents among those related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted child sex offender, released by the Department of Justice.
Secretary Rutnick previously testified at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on February 10th that he met Epstein three times from when Epstein began living as a neighbor in Manhattan, New York, in 2005, until Epstein's death in prison in 2019.
This contradicted his statement in a podcast interview last year that he had not met Epstein again after their 2005 encounter, sparking controversy.
It was confirmed that Secretary Rutnick met Epstein briefly in 2011 and visited Epstein's private island in the Caribbean for a vacation with family and others in 2012.
At the Senate hearing, Secretary Rutnick claimed he "couldn't remember" why he went to Epstein's island and insisted he was not involved in Epstein's crimes.
Separately, Secretary Rutnick faces calls for resignation from the opposition amidst allegations that while he advocated for the government's tariff policies, a company led by his son sought to profit by buying and selling tariff refund rights.
Secretary Rutnick has played a key role in President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs and in negotiations between the US and major trading partners such as South Korea and Japan over tariff reductions and investment in the US.
In Washington political circles, there is speculation that Secretary Rutnick may be next in line for replacement, following the recent dismissals of three other secretaries: Kristi Noem (Homeland Security), Pam Bondi (Justice), and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Labor).
In the case of former Secretary Bondi, she was summoned to a House Oversight Committee hearing on the 14th of last month regarding the release of the 'Epstein files', but the hearing was postponed to the end of this month after she was dismissed about ten days prior.
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