U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged during an intense Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday that he visited convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2012, contradicting earlier statements that he had cut ties with Epstein years earlier.
The admission came amid scrutiny of newly released Justice Department files that include emails and planning records showing Lutnick and his family coordinating the trip with Epstein’s aides.
Lutnick, a Cabinet member in the Trump administration and former Wall Street executive, described the visit as a brief family lunch during a vacation. He said his wife, their four children, and another family were present when they stopped at the island while traveling by boat. Lutnick insisted the encounter was innocuous and said his contact with Epstein over the years had been limited.
The trip to Little Saint James — the private island Epstein allegedly used as a base for underage sex trafficking — occurred four years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Emails in the released files show Lutnick coordinated logistics for the lunch.
Lawmakers questioned Lutnick about inconsistencies between his testimony and past public comments, including remarks on a 2025 podcast in which he said he and his wife had vowed to avoid Epstein after a 2005 house tour.
The Hill‘s Alexander Bolton continues:
Lutnick was challenged by several Senate Democrats over his previous claims that he had cut off contact with Epstein more than 20 years ago.
Democrats said Lutnick’s previous claims of cutting off contact with the disgraced financier now appear to be wildly misleading after his name emerged several times in a batch of Epstein-related files recently released by the Department of Justice.
But he insisted he didn’t see any suspicious or unlawful behavior.
“The only thing I saw with my wife and my children and the other couple and their children were staff who worked with Mr. Epstein on that island,” he said.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) further challenged Lutnick over another document suggesting he attended a 2011 dinner at Epstein’s home alongside filmmaker Woody Allen.
“No,” Lutnick responded. “I actually don’t know what you’re referring to.”
“I looked through the millions of documents for my name, just like everybody else, and what I found was there was a document that said that I had a meeting with him in May, I think, for an hour at 5 o’clock. Not dinner or otherwise,” he added.
The revelations have prompted calls for Lutnick’s resignation from some lawmakers. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) urged Lutnick to step down to “make life easier on the president,” while several Democrats said the discrepancies raised serious concerns about credibility.
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Right.
He went there for the weather…..
Did Lutnick do anything wrong? If so … throw him in jail for a loooong time!
If not … get off of his back!
Check him out quite well. But if innocent, what non-political reason is there to cause him anymore trouble?
If there is some ‘political’ reason … those trying to cause a lib bias ( anti-Trump ) problem, had better remember what that can cause!
What goes around – comes around.
Better remember that for the next election time. We won’t forget! We go by what is done … not by what is said. Words without appropriate action is nothing more than lying to us.
And also remember what LEGALLY can happen to those who use political innuendo for some nefarious political purpose!
The American people are extremely ticked off by power plays. We want an HONEST government where only the best interest of the country is considered!
But, at the same time, ‘stepping on’ any other democratically run country to ‘get what we want’ is not in anyone’s best interest either.
We, as a country, do NOT need to make any more enemies!
But if they are corrupt, that is a different story ( think – Madero ).
He took his wife and KIDS to the jailbait isle? Sick bastard needs to be fired, at the very least.