CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins pushed again on the White Home’s frustration over media protection of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, reminding viewers of “The Supply” that the story stays related due to the continuing revelations from the Epstein recordsdata.
Reporters peppered White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt throughout a Tuesday press briefing with questions on Lutnick’s testimony earlier than the Senate Appropriations Committee. Lutnick acknowledged that he and his household met with Epstein for lunch on Epstein’s personal island in 2012years after Epstein registered as a intercourse offender and an obvious contradiction of Lutnick’s claims that he shunned the person many years in the past. Lutnick mentioned the 2 didn’t have a relationship, and he has not been accused of felony wrongdoing.
Leavitt instructed reporters that President Donald Trump remained a Lutnick supporter and added that “there are lots of wins within the information this week that individuals on this room haven’t requested about, since you proceed to ask questions on the identical topic.” Leavitt then listed a variety of Trump administration accomplishments earlier than ending the briefing.
“In fact, this story has stayed within the headlines as a result of there’s new data, and survivors have been saying that they nonetheless need accountability right here for what has occurred,” Collins mentioned on Tuesday’s “The Supply.” “The Justice Division, in simply the final 24 hours or so, has unredacted extra names within the Epstein paperwork.”
Collins pointed to how Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche acknowledged that Epstein good friend Les Wexner had his identify mistakenly redacted within the authorities’s launch earlier this month of thousands and thousands of Epstein-related paperwork. She additionally famous that Wexner and Epstein’s former assistant have been labeled “co-conspirators” in a 2019 FBI doc.
“Now, being listed as a co-conspirator doesn’t imply they’re responsible of any crimes,” Collins mentioned. “They have been by no means charged with something. However what investigators uncovered about individuals in Epstein’s orbit is what lots of people, together with the survivors, need to know.”
Collins has drawn scrutiny from Trump over her protection of the Epstein case. Trump accused her final week of being “the worst reporter” who by no means smiles after she tried to ask him about Epstein survivors’ frustration over the federal government’s redactions of the Epstein recordsdata throughout an Oval Workplace press gaggle.
“She’s a younger lady — I don’t suppose I’ve ever seen you smile,” Trump mentioned as he sat behind the Resolute Desk. “I’ve identified you for 10 years. I don’t suppose I’ve ever seen a smile in your face.”
CNN later defended Collins as “an distinctive journalist” in an announcement.
