周五，美国总统唐纳德・特朗普称其商务部长是 “非常清白的人”。与此同时，民主党人正要求披露更多霍华德・卢特尼克与已故性犯罪者杰弗里・爱泼斯坦之间关系的细节。
当被问及，在爱泼斯坦案文件中多次提及卢特尼克后，民主党人希望对其进行质询一事，特朗普表示卢特尼克会配合。“嗯，霍华德会进去，把该说的都说清楚，” 特朗普说，“他是个非常清白的人，工作做得很好。”
本月早些时候，在一场激烈的参议院拨款小组委员会听证会上，卢特尼克作证称，他于 2012 年与家人及其他人一同到访过爱泼斯坦的加勒比海岛屿。周五，该委员会的民主党高层再次向卢特尼克施压，要求其提供更多与这名已定罪性犯罪者关系的细节。
在致卢特尼克的一封信中，参议院拨款小组委员会首席民主党议员克里斯・范霍伦参议员，以及该小组委员会成员、《爱泼斯坦文件透明度法案》主要提案人杰夫・默克利参议员，要求卢特尼克提供其与爱泼斯坦及其关联人士相识期间所有会面、通话和通信记录，以及与爱泼斯坦所有互动的时间线，还有 “关于其保姆的问题答复” 等内容。
这一进展发生在数小时前，美国司法部将一张据称显示卢特尼克在爱泼斯坦私人岛屿上的照片，重新纳入其公开发布的文件库中。
周四，一名司法部官员承认，这张照片是在近期爱泼斯坦案文件公布后，作为 “一批被标记为含裸体内容的文件” 的一部分被撤下的。
照片本身并无裸体内容，重新发布的版本也未做任何新的删减处理。“这批数千张图片被撤回审查，目前正分批上传并做必要删减。没有文件被删除，” 该官员表示。
司法部网站上的部分照片被合并成一份文件，司法部称，他们正分批撤回文件，对裸体内容或个人身份信息等进行必要删减。
此前被撤下的照片显示，爱泼斯坦、身着蓝色衬衫和白色短裤的卢特尼克，以及另外三人出现在小圣詹姆斯岛西南角附近。该岛是爱泼斯坦在美属维尔京群岛拥有的私人岛屿。
商务部和白宫未立即回应置评请求。
据非营利网站 “时光机”(Wayback Machine)保存的版本显示，司法部本月早些时候似乎已从爱泼斯坦案文件公开档案中撤下了这张照片。此举引发了包括众议员特德・刘、托马斯・马西和吉米・戈麦斯在内的议员的批评。
“致司法部长帕姆・邦迪：你为何掩盖这张爱泼斯坦好友卢特尼克的照片?” 刘在 X 平台上写道，“你真的蠢到以为把已发布在网上的照片删掉，它就会消失吗?”
尽管卢特尼克在参议院拨款小组委员会作证时称，他是在 2012 年度假期间到访爱泼斯坦的岛屿，但他最初声称自己在 2005 年就与爱泼斯坦断绝了往来。
本月早些时候，司法部公布的电子邮件显示，卢特尼克的妻子曾与爱泼斯坦的助理协调，于 2012 年 12 月前往该岛共进午餐。“我确实和他一起吃了午饭，当时我正和家人乘船度假。我妻子、四个孩子还有保姆都和我在一起，” 卢特尼克对参议院拨款小组委员会说。
肯塔基州共和党众议员托马斯・马西脱离本党，推动公开爱泼斯坦案文件。周四，他呼吁司法部解释撤下这张照片的原因。“我相信这其中有合理的理由。司法部需要告知国会是谁撤下了这份文件，以便我们向其询问情况，” 马西在 X 平台上写道。
Trump calls Lutnick 'very innocent' as DOJ reposts Epstein island photo
President Donald Trump on Friday called his commerce secretary a "very innocent guy" as Democrats sought more details on the relationship between Howard Lutnick and the late sex offenderJeffery Epstein.
When asked about Democrats wanting Lutnick to be deposed after repeated mentions of him in theEpstein files, Trump suggested Lutnick would.
"Well, Howard would go in and do whatever he has to say," Trump said. "He's a very innocent guy, doing a good job."
After a contentious Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing earlier this month in which Lutnick testified that hevisited Epstein's Caribbean islandin 2012 with his family and others, top committee Democrats pushed Lutnick on Friday for further details on his relationship with the convicted sex offender.
In a letter sent to Lutnick, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, a member of the Subcommittee and lead sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requested all records of Lutnick's meetings, phone calls, and correspondence with Epstein or his associates during the time they were acquainted, as well as a timeline of every interaction with Epstein and "answers to questions regarding his nanny," among other items.
The development came hours after the Department of Justice restored a photo purportedly showing Lutnick on Epstein's private island to its trove of publicly released documents.
On Thursday, a Department of Justice official acknowledged the photo was taken down as part of a "batch of files that were flagged for nudity" following therecent releaseof Epstein files.
The image itself did not contain nudity, and the restored version of the photo did not contain any new redactions.
"The batch of thousands of images was pulled for review and is being uploaded with necessary redactions on a rolling basis. No files are being deleted," the official said.
Some photos on the Department of Justice's website are batched together into a single document, and the DOJhas said they are pulling documents on a rolling basis to make necessary redactions, such as for nudity or personally identifiable information.
The previously removed photo appears to show Epstein, Lutnick -- dressed in a blue shirt and white shorts -- and three other individuals near the southwest corner of Little Saint James, the private island owned by Epstein in the United States Virgin Islands.
The Commerce Department and White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Justice appears to have withdrawn the image from its public archive of Epstein documents sometime earlier this month, according to a saved version on the nonprofit site Wayback Machine. The removal prompted criticism from lawmakers including Representatives Ted Lieu, Thomas Massie, and Jimmy Gomez.
"Dear @AGPamBondi: Why are you covering up this picture of Epstein's friend Lutnick?" Lieu wrote on X. "And are you really so stupid you think deleting a picture after you've posted it on the internet will make it go away?"
Though Lutnick testified before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that he visited Epstein's island during a 2012 vacation, he initially claimed he distanced himself from Epstein in 2005.
Emails released by the Department of Justice earlier this month showed Lutnick's wife coordinating with Epstein's assistant to visit the island for lunch in December 2012.
"I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies," Lutnick told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, who broke from his party to push for the release of the Epstein files, called on the Department of Justice on Thursday to explain why the image was removed.
"I'm sure there's a good reason for this. DOJ needs to tell Congress who pulled this file down so we can ask them," Massie wrote on X.
