Mike Johnson Dismisses ‘Absurd’ Calls for Trump Cabinet Member To Resign Over Newly-Revealed Ties To Epstein

(J. Scott Applewhite/AP photo)

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed bipartisan calls for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign over his ties to convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein as “absurd.”

CNN’s Manu Raju asked Johnson on Tuesday about the resignation calls against Lutnick following files related to Epstein from the Department of Justice showing the pair were in contact years after Lutnick previously said and long after Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Lutnick claimed in October that he shunned Epstein after a strange encounter when they were neighbors. According to Lutnick, he and his wife visited Epstein’s home in 2005, and Epstein made a comment about getting daily massages that made Lutnick and his wife decide to avoid the man.

“So I was never in the with him socially, for business or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn’t going because he’s gross,” he said.

Files released by the DOJ, however, show Lutnick was in contact with Epstein years after he claimed and there was even a visit to Epstein’s private island in 2012. In a Tuesday Senate hearing, Lutnick denied a personal relationship with Epstein and said he was with his family during the 2012 visit, but he can’t recall exactly why he chose to go.

Johnson said on Tuesday he does not believe Lutnick should resign, but also admitted he had no knowledge of his relationship to Epstein.

“Do you think Howard Lutnick should resign?” Raju asked Johnson.

“Of course not,” Johnson said. “It’s absurd. Howard Lutnick is a great Commerce Secretary. He’s done an extraordinary job for the country.”

The Republican leader recommended Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) — one of the people calling for Lutnick’s resignation — to “stop playing political games.”

“Do you have any concerns about Lutnick’s ties to Epstein?” Raju asked Johnson.

“I don’t know anything about that,” Johnson said. “I know Howard as an individual, and I trust his word on it. I mean, I don’t know of the timing and all of that. I’m not sure. You’ll have to ask others.”

Massie called for Lutnick to “make life easier on the president” and resign his position.

“Howard Lutnick clearly went to the island if we believe what’s in these files,” he told CNN on Sunday. “He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein. And this was many years after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted. You know, lightly sentenced, but was convicted for sexual crimes.”

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!