Commerce Secretary Lutnick Visited Epstein's Island and Was in Business with Him
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick maintained 13 years of contact with Epstein, visited his island 4 years after his sex crimes conviction, and co-invested in a company with him — despite previously claiming he cut ties in 2005.
DOJ-released documents and congressional testimony revealed that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein for at least 13 years — far longer than his public claim of cutting ties in 2005.
Key revelations:
- Island visit (December 2012): Lutnick admitted before the Senate Appropriations Committee that he visited Little Saint James — Epstein's private island — with his family for lunch. This was four years after Epstein's 2008 sex crimes conviction.
- Business partnership: Both Lutnick and Epstein invested in AdFin Solutions Inc., a digital ad technology company, in 2012. A contract bears both their signatures. Correspondence about the business continued until at least 2014 through Cantor Ventures, a subsidiary of Lutnick's firm Cantor Fitzgerald.
- Continued socializing: Despite his public claim of severing ties, emails show Lutnick and Epstein continued socializing, arranging calls, and planning drinks in 2011 — three years after the conviction.
Trump has refused bipartisan calls for Lutnick's resignation. Lutnick called Epstein "the greatest blackmailer ever" without providing evidence — a characterization critics noted could serve as a defense for anyone whose name appears in Epstein's records.