James Comer grilled for massive double standard on Trump official's Epstein testimony
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) was peppered with questions about why he let a member of President Donald Trump's cabinet give a deposition on Jeffrey Epstein without video recording it, while refusing the same opportunity to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.
On Wednesday, Comer spoke to reporters at the Capitol minutes before beginning the deposition with Lutnick.
"Mr. Chairman, what are your questions about his associations?" Fox News correspondent Chad Pergram asked. "He went to the island with his family with Mr. Epstein. He didn't seem to cut off his communications with Epstein after his conviction. Are those some of your questions?"
"Yeah, yeah," Comer replied. "Those are the questions."
"It's my understanding he wasn't on the island very long, and he was there with his wife and kids, but we'll see what he says," he noted.
"But this is pretty extraordinary to bring in a cabinet secretary or something like this," Pergram said.
"Yeah, and look, I've been on the oversight committee 10 years, and there's never been a chairman bring in cabinet secretaries of their own party," Comer bragged. "We have Pam Bondi coming in a couple of weeks. So I think people can see that this is a bipartisan investigation. We're really sincerely trying to get the truth."
"Our goal is to provide justice for the victims, and hopefully today will be helpful," he added.
Another reporter asked if Lutnick's credibility had been undermined after he falsely claimed that he cut ties with Epstein following a sex offender conviction.
"We're going to ask him all these questions, and we'll let the American people judge whether the credibility was damaged or not," Comer remarked. "At the end of the day, I haven't seen wrongdoing in the email correspondence, but he wasn't 100% truthful whether or not he had been on the island. So we'll see, and we'll obviously release the transcripts, and everyone can see for themselves."
"Why just a transcript?" Pergram demanded to know.
"Do you have any concerns about the secretary's conflicting statements and why not do this as a videotape?" a second reporter pressed.
"Well, this is, you know, with this transcript, he's coming in voluntarily, first of all," Comer said in defense of the process. "So we didn't video, we don't video people that come in to volunteer."
"But at the end of the day, the transcript is the most important thing," the chairman argued.
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James Comer stated that Howard Lutnick was not 100% truthful about whether he had been on Epstein's island.
"'...he wasn't 100% truthful whether or not he had been on the island. So we'll see, and we'll obviously release the transcripts, and everyone can see for themselves.'"
Howard Lutnick claimed he cut ties with Jeffrey Epstein following a sex offender conviction, but reporters questioned whether this was true.
"Another reporter asked if Lutnick's credibility had been undermined after he falsely claimed that he cut ties with Epstein following a sex offender conviction."
James Comer announced that Pam Bondi would testify before the House Oversight Committee in the coming weeks.
"'We have Pam Bondi coming in a couple of weeks. So I think people can see that this is a bipartisan investigation.'"
James Comer justified the lack of video recording by stating that Lutnick was appearing voluntarily.
"'Well, this is, you know, with this transcript, he's coming in voluntarily, first of all,' Comer said in defense of the process. 'So we didn't video, we don't video people that come in to volunteer.'"
James Comer argued that the transcript is the most important thing when defending why Lutnick's deposition was not videotaped.
"'But at the end of the day, the transcript is the most important thing,' the chairman argued."
Howard Lutnick gave a deposition to the House Oversight Committee regarding his association with Jeffrey Epstein on May 6, 2026.
"On Wednesday, Comer spoke to reporters at the Capitol minutes before beginning the deposition with Lutnick."
James Comer faced questions about a double standard for allowing Howard Lutnick a voluntary, unrecorded deposition while denying the same to Hillary and Bill Clinton.
"House Oversight Chair James Comer was peppered with questions about why he let a member of President Donald Trump's cabinet give a deposition on Jeffrey Epstein without video recording it, while refusing the same opportunity to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton."