US Commerce Secretary Howard Latnick has sought to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein, claiming he had "barely anything to do" with the financier and convicted sex offender, as calls grow for him to resign over new revelations about their relationship.
The Justice Department released millions of new files related to Epstein in January, including emails showing that Latnick appeared to have visited Epstein's private Caribbean island for lunch, years after he claimed to have cut off contact. Latnick, who was appointed to the position last year by Republican President Donald Trump, is now facing calls from both Democrats and Republicans to resign, Reuters reported.
Latnik denied the allegations during a Senate hearing, telling lawmakers that the two men exchanged only about 10 emails and met three times over 14 years. Latnik said the lunch with Epstein was only held because he was on a boat near the island. He added that his family was present at the lunch.
"I had no relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with the person," Latnik told the Senate committee, responding to questions from Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Latnik is one of a number of powerful figures in politics, business and entertainment - including Trump himself - who have come under fire for their ties to Epstein, reflecting the elite circles in which Epstein moved. Latnik is also under pressure over apparent contradictions between the newly released documents and his own previous statements about Epstein, who at the time lived next door to former New York City CEO Cantor Fitzgerald.
Latnik previously claimed that he vowed to never "be in the same room" with Epstein again after a 2005 incident, when the financier showed him a massage table in his city apartment and made a sexually suggestive comment, Reuters reports.
But in addition to the 2012 lunch, the emails also show that Epstein's assistant forwarded him an invitation Latnik had sent to a fundraiser in November 2015 at his financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 US election.
Latnik did not comment on these apparent contradictions during the testimony, which were pointed out by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff in his call for Latnik to step down.
Republican Congressman Tom Massie told CNN on Sunday that Latnik should "make life easier for the president, frankly, and just resign."
"I know, and my wife knows, that I did absolutely nothing wrong in any possible sense," Latnik said at the hearing.
Latnik also stated that he had no knowledge that Epstein was interested in meeting his nanny.
The hearing came a day after Epstein associate Jillian Maxwell refused to answer questions at a hearing before a U.S. House of Representatives committee, according to lawmakers, drawing criticism from both Republican and Democratic members of the committee.
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