Trump Commerce Secretary's Epstein Connections Detailed in Newly Released Documents
Newly unsealed court documents have revealed that Howard Lutnick, who served as commerce secretary under former President Donald Trump, arranged to visit Jeffrey Epstein's private island in 2012. The files, released by the Department of Justice on Friday, contain email correspondence that sheds new light on Lutnick's interactions with the convicted sex offender.
2012 Island Visit Arrangements
According to the documents, on 20 November 2012, Epstein's longtime assistant emailed Lutnick stating that "Jeffrey Epstein understands you will be down in St Thomas some over the holidays" and that "Jeffrey requested I please pass along some phone numbers to you so the two of you can possibly get together."
Nearly a month later, on 19 December 2012, Lutnick sent an email directly to "Jeff" outlining his travel plans. He wrote that he and several others, including his wife, children, friends and their children, were visiting the Caribbean aboard his boat.
"We are landing in St Thomas early Saturday afternoon and planning to head over to St Bart's/Anguilla on Monday at some point," Lutnick wrote. "Where are you located (what is exact location for my captain)?? Does Sunday evening for dinner sound good?"
An individual whose name is redacted in the documents replied: "Below from Jeffrey: come sat or sunday lunch? little st james on the map, behind christmans cove."
Evidence of Meeting and Follow-Up
The documents appear to indicate that a meeting did take place between Lutnick and Epstein. On 24 December 2012, Epstein emailed his assistant with the subject line: "please forward to howard lutnik."
The email body simply stated: "nice seeing you, read #2 dot three." The assistant responded "Will do!" and forwarded the message to Lutnick.
2015 Clinton Fundraiser Invitation
The newly released tranche of Epstein-related files also contains documents suggesting Lutnick invited Epstein to a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in 2015. An email dated 3 November 2015 shows Epstein's longtime assistant forwarding him an invitation from Lutnick to a "very =ntimate [sic] fundraising event" for Clinton scheduled for 11 November.
At the time, Lutnick was the former CEO of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald. It remains unclear whether Epstein actually attended the event.
Interestingly, the New York Post reported on a fundraiser that month held at Lutnick's home, which the paper described as being "next door to Jeffrey Epstein's house." It is not clear if this was the same event referenced in the email.
Lutnick's Response and Previous Comments
When reached by phone on Friday by the New York Times, Lutnick said he could not comment about the island visit because he had not seen the latest batch of Epstein documents. "I spent zero time with him," Lutnick said before ending the call.
These revelations follow Lutnick's previous acknowledgment in a podcast interview with the New York Post's Miranda Devine that Epstein was his neighbor. Lutnick recounted a disturbing 2005 encounter when Epstein invited him and his wife into his home for a tour.
"Big living room, and then across from it is double doors, I assume it's the dining room, and he opens the doors and there's a massage table in the middle of the room, and candles all around and stuff," Lutnick described. "I say to him, 'Massage table in the middle of your house? How often you have a massage?' And he says, 'Every day.' And then he like gets, like, weirdly close to me and he says, 'And the right kind of massage.'"
Lutnick continued: "Now, my wife is standing here, so she looks at me and I look at her and we say, 'I'm sorry, we have to go.' And we left, and in the six or eight steps it takes to get from his house to my house, my wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again. So I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn't going, cause he's gross."
Official Responses
The commerce department did not immediately respond to a comment request from the Guardian regarding the 2015 email invitation to Epstein. Similarly, Cantor Fitzgerald declined to comment about the 2015 fundraiser when approached by the Guardian.
These documents represent the latest in a series of revelations about connections between prominent figures and Jeffrey Epstein, whose 2019 death in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges remains controversial. The release continues to shed light on the extensive network of associates Epstein maintained across political, financial, and social circles.
