Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Visited Epstein's Island For Lunch, New Files Reveal

Over three million files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein revealed that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apparently visited Epstein’s private island for lunch years after he claimed to have cut off ties.

Records show Epstein and Lutnick made plans to meet for lunch on December 23, 2012, on Epstein’s Caribbean island, Little Saint James, with his family and friends. That morning, Lutnick’s wife wrote to Epstein’s secretary, “We are heading towards you from St. Thomas” and asked where to anchor.

The files also revealed communications between Lutnick and Epstein over a Sunday dinner. “Does Sunday evening for dinner sound good? I have another couple (Michael and Marcy Lehrman) with me on my boat, and each of us has 4 children-

two 16’s, two 14’s, a 13, a 12, an 11, and a 7-year old.”

Epstein, who was Lutnick’s neighbor in Manhattan, replied: “come sat or sunday lunch? little st james on the map, behind christmans cove.”

A day later, Epstein’s assistant sent Lutnick a note from Epstein that read in part, “Nice seeing you.” In 2015, Epstein’s assistant forwarded him an invitation from Lutnick to a fundraiser at his financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who lost to US President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential elections.

ALSO READ: New Epstein Files Include Allegations Against Donald Trump, DOJ Denies Inappropriate Conduct

Contradictory Statements By Lutnick

The records also suggested that Lutnick, at the time chairman of finance powerhouse Cantor Fitzgerald, and Epstein had a phone call in April 2011 and drinks in May 2011.

The emails stood in stark contrast with Lutnick’s own claims of breaking off contact with Epstein in 2005. In a conversation with the New York Post last year, Lutnick said he and his wife Allison decided to “never be in a room with that disgusting person ever again” after Epstein boasted about sexual massages during a tour of his townhome.

“So I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy,” Lutnick said in an interview. “If that guy was there, I wasn’t going, because he’s gross.”

A Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement that Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”

In his response to the matter, Lutnick told the New York Times that he could not comment about the island visit because he had not seen the latest Epstein documents. “I spent zero time with him,” he said before hanging up.

In recent years, prominent figures linked to Epstein have faced scrutiny over visits to Little St James, Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands, but Lutnick’s planned trip had not been previously reported.

The documents also revealed that Lutnick and Epstein’s lives continued to overlap in more recent years. In 2017, Epstein contributed to a charity dinner honouring Lutnick. In 2018, they exchanged emails that appear to discuss them joining forces to battle construction plans by The Frick Collection, a museum across the street from both of their homes.