MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace confessed she was "gobsmacked" watching Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's recent interview, where he described "sharing a wall" with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"They took videos of massages and then blackmailed them," Lutnick says at one point in the interview.
At the top of her Thursday show, Wallace was so shocked seeing the clip she exclaimed, "What!?"
Among the comments that Lutick commented on was that he lived next door to Epstein, bragging they "shared a wall." On one occasion, Lutnick brought his wife over to Epstein's house. He noted that he found Epstein to be "gross."
"He's so gross I brought my wife there?" questioned Wallace. "None of that makes sense!"
"We should say, despite the fact that the American Secretary of Commerce said all those things, you should know, there's no evidence that we're aware of at this time of wrongdoing by Bill Gates or other Epstein associates. But importantly, Lutnick is directly contradicting the Trump cabinet's statements and their official line on the Epstein case."
She went on to quote a Justice Department memo released in July, saying, "This systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions."
"So, DOJ didn't find what Lutnick told us there," said Wallace, citing the secretary's claim that there was likely a video blackmail action unfolding on the Epstein probe.
Wallace played a clip of FBI Director Kash Patel saying that there's no conclusive evidence showing anyone was associated with Epstein.
"Like, I could connect calls from Kash Patel to Lutnick if they want to chat and get their story straight," Wallace quipped.
"I wish I could get to the point in my job and in my life where I can't be shocked by anything that these, you know, yahoos say, but I was gobsmacked. I watched that clip five times. First of all, he's so gross and he's telling us how he brought his wife into the home of this gross guy?" Wallace questioned when speaking to investigative reporter Tara Palmeri, who has followed the Epstein report for years.
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) told CNN that they intend to speak to Lutnick about what he knows.
