2026年2月10日 美国东部时间下午3:01 / 路透社
华盛顿，2月10日（路透社）- 美国商务部部长霍华德·卢特尼克周二试图与杰弗里·爱泼斯坦划清界限，声称他”几乎与”这位金融家及被判有罪的性犯罪者没有任何关系，此前有新证据显示两人存在关联，他因此面临辞职呼吁。
司法部1月份公布了数百万份与爱泼斯坦相关的新文件，其中包括电子邮件，显示卢特尼克在声称已切断联系多年后，显然仍访问了爱泼斯坦位于加勒比海的私人岛屿吃午餐。卢特尼克去年由共和党总统唐纳德·特朗普任命担任该职务，目前面临民主党和共和党两党的辞职呼吁。
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卢特尼克在参议院听证会上予以反驳，告诉议员们两人在14年间仅交换了约10封电子邮件，会面三次。卢特尼克表示，与爱泼斯坦的午餐之所以发生，只是因为他当时在该岛屿附近的船上。他说他的家人参加了那次午餐。
“我与他没有任何关系。我几乎与那个人没什么来往，”在民主党参议员克里斯·范霍伦的质询下，卢特尼克向参议院小组委员会表示。
卢特尼克是包括特朗普本人在内的政界、商界和娱乐界众多有权势人士之一，这些人因与爱泼斯坦的关系而受到抨击，反映出爱泼斯坦所处的精英圈子。此外，新公布的文件与卢特尼克此前关于爱泼斯坦的言论之间存在明显矛盾，爱泼斯坦当时住在这位前Cantor Fitzgerald首席执行官在纽约的隔壁，这使得卢特尼克也处于风口浪尖。
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卢特尼克此前曾声称，在2005年发生一起事件后，他发誓再也不会”与爱泼斯坦共处一室”，当时这位金融家向卢特尼克展示了他联排别墅里的按摩床，并说了一些带有性暗示的话。
但除了2012年的午餐外，电子邮件还显示，爱泼斯坦的助手将卢特尼克在2015年11月向其金融公司举办的民主党总统候选人希拉里·克林顿筹款活动的邀请函转发给了他。特朗普在2016年美国大选中击败了克林顿。
周二，卢特尼克在作证时没有回应明显存在的矛盾，民主党参议员亚当·希夫在呼吁卢特尼克辞职时引用了这些矛盾。
共和党众议员汤姆·马西周日告诉美国有线电视新闻网（CNN），卢特尼克应该”坦率地说，为总统减轻负担，干脆辞职”。
“我和我的妻子都知道，我在任何方面都绝对没有做错任何事，”卢特尼克在听证会上说。
卢特尼克还指出，他不知道爱泼斯坦有兴趣见他的保姆。
根据议员们的说法，听证会举行的前一天，爱泼斯坦的同伙吉斯莱恩·麦克斯韦在众议院小组委员会的证词中拒绝回答问题，这招致了委员会中共和党和民主党成员的批评。
报道：大卫·劳德、亚历山德拉·阿尔珀和考特尼·罗森；写作：亚历山德拉·阿尔珀；编辑：威尔·邓纳姆
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Lutnick claims no relationship with Epstein amid calls to resign
February 10, 2026 3:01 PM UTC / Reuters
WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – U.S. Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick sought on Tuesday to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein, alleging he “barely had anything to do with” the financier and convicted sex offender amid calls for his resignation over new revelations about their ties.
The Justice Department in January released millions of new files related to Epstein, including emails that showed Lutnick apparently visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties. Lutnick, appointed to his post by Republican President Donald Trump last year, now faces calls from both Democrats and Republicans to resign.
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Lutnick pushed back during a Senate hearing, telling lawmakers that the two men had exchanged only about 10 emails and met three times over 14 years. Lutnick said a lunch with Epstein took place only because he was on a boat near the island. Lutnick said his family was present for the lunch.
“I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person,” Lutnick told a Senate panel under questioning by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Lutnick is one of a host of powerful men in politics, business and entertainment, including Trump himself, who are under fire for their ties with Epstein, in a reflection of the elite circles Epstein inhabited. Lutnick also is in the hot seat over apparent contradictions between the newly released documents and his prior remarks about Epstein, who lived next door to the former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO in New York at the time.
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Lutnick previously claimed he vowed never to “be in a room” with Epstein following a 2005 incident in which the financier showed Lutnick a massage table at his townhouse and made a sexually suggestive comment.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick arrives to testify before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing to examine a review of broadband deployment funding at the Department of Commerce, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 10, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
But in addition to the 2012 lunch, the emails showed that Epstein’s assistant forwarded him an invitation from Lutnick to a fundraiser in November 2015 at his financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 U.S. election.
Lutnick on Tuesday did not address the apparent contradictions during his testimony, cited by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff in his call for Lutnick to step down, opens new tab.
Republican Representative Tom Massie told CNN on Sunday that Lutnick should “make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign.”
“I know and my wife knows that I have done absolutely nothing wrong in any possible regard,” Lutnick said at the hearing.
Lutnick also noted that he had no knowledge of Epstein being interested in meeting his nanny.
The hearing was held a day after Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions at a deposition before a U.S. House of Representatives panel, according to lawmakers, drawing criticism from Republican and Democratic members of the committee.
Reporting by David Lawder, Alexandra Alper and Courtney Rozen; Writing by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Will Dunham
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