Howard Lutnick swore he cut ties with Epstein after one creepy tour. Then files revealed he took his family to the predator’s island
‘A pathological liar.’
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted to visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s private island with his family in 2012, despite previously claiming he cut all ties with the convicted sex offender after a creepy encounter years earlier. The revelation came during a closed-door congressional hearing this week, where Lutnick called the lunch invitation “unsettling” but went anyway, bringing his wife and kids along for the two-hour visit.
According to The NY Post, Lutnick, who lived next door to Epstein on Manhattan’s Upper East Side from 2005 to 2019, told lawmakers he only met with Epstein three times. The first was before Epstein’s 2019 suicide while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The other two meetings happened after Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, which forced him to register as a sex offender.
During his three-hour testimony, Lutnick insisted he had no “personal” or “professional” relationship with Epstein. He also claimed he never saw any inappropriate behavior involving young women.
But his story kept shifting, leaving lawmakers frustrated
In October 2025, Lutnick had told The NY Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever,” suggesting the financier traded videos of powerful individuals to prosecutors in exchange for his lenient plea deal. By Wednesday, he backtracked, calling those remarks “speculation” and saying it was “inexplicable” why he still met with Epstein in 2011 and 2012.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee accused him of lying, pointing to emails released by the Department of Justice that show Lutnick coordinating those meetings. The emails also mention investments in a subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm Lutnick leads.
Lutnick’s explanation for visiting Epstein’s island didn’t sit well with lawmakers. He told the committee he didn’t know how Epstein’s assistant knew he’d be traveling through the U.S. Virgin Islands before the invitation was extended, another detail he called “unsettling.” But that didn’t stop him from accepting.
Oversight Chair James Comer, a Republican, said the emails didn’t show wrongdoing but confirmed Lutnick “wasn’t 100% truthful” about the island visit. Democrats were far less forgiving. Rep. Ro Khanna called the testimony “contortions and lies,” while Rep. Suhas Subramanyam said Lutnick’s evasiveness was “mind-boggling.”
The contradictions kept piling up
Lutnick claimed he was unaware of Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, which allowed him to serve just 13 months in jail, most of it on work release, for soliciting a minor for prostitution. He also suggested Trump administration officials had corrected his earlier comments about Epstein’s blackmail scheme, though no evidence supports that claim.
A July 2025 memo from the Department of Justice found “no credible evidence” Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals. However, Khanna noted Lutnick didn’t mention that memo during his testimony.
Democrats are now calling for Lutnick’s resignation. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, wasn’t even present for the hearing despite demanding Lutnick’s appearance.
According to The Hill, Khanna went further, telling reporters that if the president had seen the transcript, “he would have fired Howard Lutnick.” Subramanyam agreed, saying Lutnick’s dishonesty made it clear he should step down.
Comer, however, has pushed back on the criticism. He accused Democrats of misrepresenting the testimony. He said Lutnick’s visit to the island was brief and included his family, but the damage to his credibility was already done.
The fallout from Lutnick’s testimony is far from over
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to appear before the committee later this month for her own transcribed interview. And Comer warned that if Lutnick misled Congress, he could face felony charges. For now, the commerce secretary’s shifting story has left more questions than answers, especially about why he’d take his family to a place he once called the domain of a “disgusting person.”
Lutnick’s initial claims about cutting ties with Epstein after a creepy tour of his Manhattan penthouse, where Epstein showed him massage tables, now look even shakier. He told the podcast he and his wife vowed never to be in the same room with Epstein again, yet less than a decade later, they were on his island.
The emails between them suggest a relationship that went beyond casual acquaintance, even if Lutnick insists it was purely professional. His insistence that he never witnessed any wrongdoing rings hollow when stacked against his own past statements.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie pushed through Congress last year, forced the Department of Justice to release documents related to Epstein’s crimes. Those files have already exposed inconsistencies in Lutnick’s story, and more could surface as the investigation continues. For now, the commerce secretary’s credibility is in tatters, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are demanding accountability.
(Featured image: The White House)
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