The House Oversight Committee will have a busy few months of high-profile interviews in its investigation of the federal government's handling of the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Sources familiar with the investigation tell Scripps News that Commercee Secretary Howard Lutnick will sit for a transcribed interview on May 6.
Lutnick has drawn scrutiny over his past ties to Epstein. The commerce secretary previously claimed he had not seen Epstein since 2005, three years before Epstein’s 2008 conviction on child prostitution charges.
But emails released under the Epstein Transparency Act show suggest he met with Epstein in 2012.
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At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Lutnick confirmed he had been on a boat with Epstein in 2012. He said he was not sure “why we did it,” but insisted there was nothing untoward about the meeting. Lutnick has not been accused of any crimes.
Scripps News has learned Tova Noel is scheduled for an interview with the committee on May 18. She was the prison guard who was on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein died.
In 2019, prosecutors charged Noel with conspiracy and falsification of records, accusing her and another guard of failing to conduct required inmate checks during an overnight shift at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. Authorities said the two later signed false records indicating they had completed the rounds, leaving Epstein unobserved for hours before officials said he died by suicide.
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Noel later entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that allowed her to avoid jail time.
About a month after Noel's interview, on June 10, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee, Scripps News has learned.
Gates has said he met Epstein in 2011 and believed the financier could help connect him with wealthy donors for his global health initiatives. He has repeatedly said he had no involvement in Epstein’s criminal activity and has expressed regret over associating with him.
In the coming weeks, Scripps News has learned billionaire businessman Ted Waitt and Epstein's personal assistant Lesley Groff will also testify before the committee.
