'Tariff Man' Rutnick in Crisis Over Son's Company's Alleged 'Tariff Refund Business'

'Tariff Man' Rutnick in crisis over son's company's alleged 'tariff refund business'

Democrats: "Father advocates tariffs while son seeks to profit from tariff refund business"

Rutnick: "I did not profit"... Regarding Epstein allegations: "I will answer at the Oversight Committee hearing"

Allegations were raised in the U.S. Congress on the 23rd (local time) that a company led by the son of Howard Rutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Donald Trump's 'tariff keyman', sought to profit by buying and selling tariff refund rights.

Secretary Rutnick denied this, stating, "It is not true."

Secretary Rutnick appeared at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing to discuss next year's Commerce Department budget. When Representative Madeleine Dean (Democrat, Pennsylvania) pointed out, "While the Secretary is advocating for tariffs outside, his son found a way to profit by using high tariffs to buy refund rights at a low price," he responded as above.

Tariff refund rights refer to the right of companies to receive back tariffs already paid to the U.S. government, following a Supreme Court ruling that the tariffs were illegal.

Ahead of the Supreme Court ruling in February, there were media reports that Cantor Fitzgerald, Secretary Rutnick's former company, now led by his son, was promoting a product that involved pre-purchasing refund rights and paying 20-30% of the refund amount to the companies that sold them.

Democratic lawmakers raised suspicions that while Secretary Rutnick advocated for tariff policies, his son attempted to sell products that could profit from a Supreme Court ruling on illegal tariffs.

Secretary Rutnick held up a printout of a news article, saying, "You know that's not true."

He continued, "Here's a related report. I want it on the record," stating that the article's content was that "Secretary Rutnick's former company did not actually profit from the Supreme Court tariff ruling."

Then, Representative Dean urged, "I hope the Secretary recognizes how fundamentally wrong and corrupt this matter is," adding, "Take responsibility and uphold the minimum duty of resigning before you are dismissed."

Democratic lawmakers also intensely questioned Secretary Rutnick about allegations related to the late billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but Secretary Rutnick avoided answering today, stating that he would respond at the House Oversight Committee hearing scheduled for early next month.

Previously, Secretary Rutnick had stated that he had no contact with Epstein since 2005, but later disclosed Justice Department Epstein documents showed that their relationship continued, including a visit to Epstein's private island in 2012.

When Representative Grace Meng (Democrat, New York) asked why he lied, Secretary Rutnick said, "I agreed to answer all questions regarding this matter to House members less than two weeks from now," adding, "There is nothing to hide, and I am willing to answer."

When Representative Dean then asked, "Is President Donald Trump concerned about the Secretary's relationship with Epstein?", Secretary Rutnick replied, "I will not comment on conversations with the President."

Since last month, President Trump has successively dismissed three cabinet members (Homeland Security, Justice, Labor), causing controversy or removing underperforming cabinet members, leading some U.S. media outlets to speculate that Secretary Rutnick could be the next target.