Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faced questions this week about his visit to the private island of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, as well as the fact that stablecoin issuer Tether hasn’t been audited. At first glance, it may not seem like those two issues are related in any way. But they’re intertwined in an environment where crypto prices are plummeting, and Tether potentially poses a risk to the broader economy. Fundamentally, the question is: How much can you trust Howard Lutnick?

Previously, Lutnick has made a big show of saying that while he was Epstein’s next-door neighbor on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, he didn’t have anything to do with the sex offender after a 2005 visit to his home gave…