Howard Lutnick’s Son Underneath Investigation Over Alleged Tariff Ruling Income

[ad_1] Consultant Jamie Raskin, the highest Democrat on the Home Judiciary Committee, despatched a letter on Friday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his son, Brandon Lutnick, the chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, looking for details about doable conflicts of curiosity associated to the U.S. Supreme Court docket's current tariff ruling.

A Cantor Fitzgerald spokesperson beforehand instructed Newsweek about this matter for a associated article, it has “by no means executed any transactions or taken threat on the legality of tariffs." The Cantor Fitzgerald spokesperson added, "Any report suggesting in any other case is totally false.”

Newsweek has reached out to Cantor Fitzgerald for remark by way of e mail on Friday.

Why It Issues The court docket’s determination earlier this month was targeted on tariffs enacted by means of the Worldwide Emergency Financial Powers Act (IEEPA), which has been a core pillar of his financial coverage since President Donald Trump took workplace in January 2025. Trump has repeatedly introduced, imposed, paused and reinstated a slew of tariffs at various charges on U.S. buying and selling companions to curb immigration, drug trafficking, and cut back commerce deficits.

Following the choice, on-line posts claimed Lutnick's sons would come into cash over the court docket's ruling, some claiming the agency made transactions successfully betting on the legality of the tariffs. Most of the posts relied on a July 2025 Wired report that mentioned Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. was exploring trades tied to potential tariff refunds, citing inside paperwork the outlet mentioned it reviewed.

Wired wrote, "Merchants on the agency’s funding banking subsidiary, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., say they've the capability to purchase the rights to a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in potential refunds from firms who've paid Trump’s tariffs." Lawmakers later cited such reporting whereas inquiring about potential conflicts of curiosity. Cantor Fitzgerald has mentioned the Wired report is "false."

<img id="11595725" alt="" caption="Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick greets lawmakers as he arrives for the State of the Union address in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Feb. 24, 2026. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)" captionoverride="Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick greets lawmakers as he arrives for the State of the Union address in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on February 24 (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="5000" height="3333" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AP26056238262763.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> What To Know Raskin wrote a letter to Lutnick and his son, Brandon, inquiring "full public accounting," on the matter, writing "the agency reportedly stands to make extraordinary income of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on the expense of American taxpayers." He argued that "this association raises important moral, authorized, and coverage questions that demand a full public accounting."

Cantor Fitzgerald has denied the reporting to Newsweek, and on February 20 wrote in an X submit: "Following as we speak’s Supreme Court docket ruling we need to reiterate that Cantor Fitzgerald has by no means executed any transactions or taken threat on the legality of tariffs. Any report suggesting in any other case is totally false."

A lot of his letter depends on the Wired reporting that Cantor Fitzgerald has denied, with Raskin writing, "A letter from the agency reviewed by Wired described this method intimately: for an organization that had paid $10 million in tariffs, Cantor would supply $2 to $3 million as we speak in alternate for the best to gather the total $10 million refund if courts struck the tariffs down, giving the agency a rare three-to-five-fold return."

Raskin then turned to the commerce secretary, writing, "On the similar time, Secretary Lutnick, you will have been a key 'architect' and a 'cheerleader in chief' of the Administration’s tariff coverage," including, "that potential battle of curiosity raises some troubling questions of federal ethics and insider buying and selling."

The letter additionally factors to Newsweek's earlier reporting, with a Cantor Fitzgerald spokesperson stating that "Any report suggesting in any other case is totally false.” Raskin writes, "That denial is debunked by the paperwork Wired reviewed final yr, which mentioned the agency had “already put a commerce by means of” price $10 million in tariff refunds."

In conclusion of his letter, Raskin demanded that Cantor Fitzgerald present the documentation to the committee by 5 p.m. ET on March 9. The lawmaker requested "all paperwork, time period sheets, agreements, and correspondence referring to the creation, advertising and marketing, or execution of any settlement involving the acquisition or task of tariff refund rights underneath IEEPA, together with the letter and commerce referenced within the July 2025 Wired report," together with any paperwork exhibiting the identities and figures of tariff refund agreements that had been drafted or finalized.

The letter additionally requests all communications between Cantor Fitzgerald and Secretary Lutnick "any member of the Lutnick household, or any official on the Division of Commerce, the White Home, or every other Govt Department company relating to tariffs, tariff refunds, or the IEEPA litigation, from January 20, 2025, to the current."

What Folks Are Saying Amy Siskind, an activist and author, mentioned in an X submit sharing a quote from Raskin's letter to the Lutnicks: "The grift is rarely ending."

Anthony Pompliano, an entrepreneur and investor with almost 2 million followers on X, wrote in a February 20 X submit: "It's pretty important for a Wall Road agency to publicly reply to an Web rumor. They'd solely say this in the event that they had been 100% certain it was true. No method a big monetary agency takes on the danger of publicly saying one thing unfaithful on this method."

Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren mentioned in an August 2025 assertion following reviews of potential conflicts of curiosity over reported tariff bets: “We write relating to current reviews that your funding banking subsidiary has created a monetary product for the aim of betting on the result of litigation associated to President Trump’s tariffs … Provided that one of many purported architects of President Trump’s tariff coverage is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, your father and the previous Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, LP, the agency’s actions increase apparent conflict-of-interest and insider dealing considerations.

"If the President’s tariffs are finally declared illegal, firms that paid the tariffs could also be entitled to a refund of these duties from the U.S. Authorities. Public reporting signifies that Cantor has supplied firms the chance to commerce their authorized declare to a future tariff refund in alternate for twenty to thirty % of the duties the corporate paid...A Cantor consultant reportedly mentioned the agency has, ‘the capability to commerce as much as a number of hundred million of those presently and might probably upsize that sooner or later to satisfy potential demand.’”

Tim Meyer, a professor of worldwide enterprise regulation at Duke College College of Regulation, instructed Wired: “The truth that it’s Cantor Fitzgerald, that raises some questions. It’s fairly fascinating that the commerce secretary’s agency is the one that's betting the tariffs might be struck down. That strikes me as very fascinating—and fairly telling about what these with connections to the administration take into consideration the deserves of the tariffs.”

Brian Allen, an financial and geopolitical analyst, mentioned final Friday in an X submit: "Howard Lutnick’s household agency reportedly purchased tariff refund rights for 20–30 cents on the greenback after “Liberation Day” final yr. Now the Supreme Court docket has struck the tariffs down. Translation: For each $100 invested, Lutnick’s sons might have simply made 3–5x. Insiders knew. Common People paid. Welcome to Corrupt America — the place coverage is a revenue scheme."

Mark Lynch, a South Carolina Republican candidate for Senate, mentioned Friday on X: "Howard Lutnick and his Household PROFIT From Supreme Court docket Tariffs Ruling Howard Lutnick’s household agency reportedly purchased tariff refund claims for pennies on the greenback after Liberation Day. Now the Supreme Court docket has struck the tariffs down, and people bets might pay out massive. Add in final week’s testimony confirming his go to to Epstein’s island, and the sample is difficult to disregard. That is precisely how the insider class operates."

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