• Justice Department documents reveal Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in December 2012
• Trip contradicts Lutnick’s previous assertions he cut ties with convicted sex offender in 2005
• Emails show Lutnick’s wife confirmed arrival on 188-foot yacht “Excellence” with children and another family

WASHINGTON, D.C. (TDR) — Documents released Friday by the Justice Department reveal that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick planned and apparently carried out a visit to Jeffrey Epstein‘s private island in December 2012, contradicting his previous assertions that he had cut ties with the convicted sex offender years earlier.

According to the records, first reported by The New York Times, Lutnick emailed Epstein that month while traveling to the Caribbean with his wife, children, and another family aboard a 188-foot yacht called “Excellence”. He inquired about Epstein’s whereabouts and whether they could meet for a meal.

Epstein responded through his assistant, Lesley Groff, providing details about Little St. James, his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The parties eventually settled on plans for a lunch gathering on December 23, 2012.

Wife Confirmed Arrival At Island

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Email exchanges show that on December 23 at 11:16 a.m., Allison Lutnick, the commerce secretary’s wife, contacted Epstein’s secretary stating “we are heading towards you from St. Thomas” and asking where they should anchor their yacht.

One day after the scheduled lunch, Epstein’s assistant forwarded Lutnick a message from Epstein that read: “Nice seeing you.”

The follow-up message strongly suggests the lunch gathering took place as planned, contradicting Lutnick’s claims made during an October podcast interview that he deliberately avoided any contact with Epstein after a 2005 encounter at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.

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

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When contacted by reporters Friday about the newly revealed visit, Lutnick simply responded “I spent zero time with him” and ended the conversation, according to Raw Story.

Claimed 2005 Visit Ended Relationship

Lutnick has repeatedly described a 2005 visit to Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse as the moment he permanently severed ties with his former neighbor. During that podcast interview, Lutnick recalled Epstein giving him and his wife a tour of the mansion.

“He like gets, like, weirdly close to me, and he says, ‘And the right kind of massage,'” Lutnick recounted about Epstein describing his daily massage routine.

Lutnick said that after seeing Epstein’s massage room—which had a massage table surrounded by candles—he and his wife quickly left and agreed to “never be in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy.”

However, the newly released documents show their relationship continued for years afterward, including the 2012 island visit and additional interactions as recently as 2018.

Documents Show Ongoing Contact Through 2018

The Justice Department files reveal that Lutnick and Epstein’s lives continued to intersect well beyond 2012.

In November 2015, Lutnick sent an invitation to a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton hosted at Cantor Fitzgerald, where Lutnick previously served as chairman and CEO. Lutnick sent the invitation to Epstein’s assistant, Groff, who forwarded it to Epstein. It remains unclear whether Epstein actually attended the Democratic fundraising event.

The documents also show that in 2017, the two men exchanged emails about construction of a building across the street from both of their Manhattan homes.

As recently as 2018, Epstein contributed to a philanthropic dinner honoring Lutnick, according to email exchanges included in the massive document release.

Lutnick Was Epstein’s Upper East Side Neighbor

Lutnick and Epstein were next-door neighbors when both lived in townhouses on Manhattan’s swanky Upper East Side. The proximity of their residences has raised additional questions about the extent of their relationship.

Real estate records show that Epstein was listed as an owner of Lutnick’s property at 11 East 71st Street before Lutnick purchased it in 1998. According to a Crain’s investigation, a now-dissolved entity with links to Epstein called SAM Conversion Corp. bought the property in 1988.

Property records reveal that Epstein was listed as the trustee of the building during subsequent transactions and transfers, playing a direct role in them. Epstein granted his lawyer power of attorney over the property in 1996, selling it to the Comet Trust weeks later. In 1998, the Comet Trust sold the property to Lutnick, who took out a $4 million mortgage that was paid off in 2018.

The Commerce Department previously told Newsweek that Lutnick and Epstein “had no personal relationship, contact, or direct dealings”—a claim now called into question by the newly released documents.

Congressional Democrats Demand Testimony

House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia called on Lutnick to testify before Congress about his knowledge of Epstein and his crimes following the document revelations.

“Secretary Lutnick explicitly said that Epstein was the ‘greatest blackmailer ever,’ directly contradicting the Trump Administration’s public statements,” Garcia wrote in a letter to Lutnick.

Garcia noted that Lutnick’s characterization of Epstein as a blackmailer contradicted sworn testimony by FBI Director Kash Patel, who testified that investigators found no evidence of blackmail.

“Officials from Trump’s own Cabinet appear to be directly contradicting each other, which only heightens the urgency of our investigation into the full scope of Epstein’s crimes and who may have been involved or protected,” Garcia stated.

The ranking member emphasized that Lutnick, as Epstein’s former neighbor, revealed in interviews that powerful figures may have been filmed at Epstein’s residence and confirmed that Epstein’s inappropriate behavior was obvious to members of his social circle.

“No matter how powerful, wealthy, or well-connected those complicit in Epstein’s crimes may be, they must be held accountable,” Garcia wrote. “The information Secretary Lutnick possesses could be critical to our investigation.”

Massive DOJ Document Dump Includes Other High-Profile Names

The Friday document release included more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images related to the Epstein investigation—the culmination of compliance efforts with the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress in November.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday’s massive batch of documents marked the end of the Trump administration’s planned releases under the law.

“I can assure that we complied with the statute, we complied with the act and we did not protect President Trump,” Blanche said during a press conference.

The documents also included extensive communications between Epstein and Elon Musk, who reached out on multiple occasions to plan visits to the Caribbean island where many allegations of sexual abuse occurred.

In a late November 2012 exchange, Epstein inquired how many people Musk would like flown by helicopter to Little St. James. Musk responded that “probably just Talulah and me,” referencing actress Talulah Riley, his partner at the time.

“What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Musk asked in the email.

Musk messaged Epstein again in late December 2013 stating he would be in the “BVI/St Bart’s area over the holidays” and asking “Is there a good time to visit?”

The documents also contained hundreds of friendly text messages between Epstein and Steve Bannon in the months leading up to Epstein’s August 2019 suicide. Bannon, who served as President Trump‘s White House strategist during his first term, discussed politics and arranged meetings for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

In one March 2019 exchange, Bannon asked Epstein if he could supply his plane to pick him up in Rome.

Files Include Melania Trump Email To Ghislaine Maxwell

The massive release also included what appears to be a 2002 email from Melania Trump to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s partner and co-conspirator who was convicted of sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great on the picture,” the email reads. “Give me a call when you are back in NY.”

Another redacted message from 2012 reads: “what does JE think of going to Mar-a-Lago after xmas instead of his island?” The message is from years after Trump has said he stopped socializing with Epstein.

Document Release Came After Congressional Pressure

President Trump spent months resisting any release of Epstein files until both Democrats and Republicans in Congress forced his hand by advancing the transparency law over his objections.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by Trump on November 19, required the Justice Department to release all unclassified records related to Epstein and Maxwell within 30 days. The December 19 deadline passed with only partial releases, sparking widespread criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who co-sponsored the legislation, have threatened to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt for the delayed releases.

Some of the files released Friday include heavy redactions, with one 7-page document completely blacked out. The DOJ web page hosting the Epstein files now includes an age verification tool requiring users to confirm they are 18 years or older due to potential depictions of nudity.

As Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s contradictory statements about his relationship with Epstein face scrutiny, will congressional investigations uncover the full extent of connections between Trump administration officials and the convicted sex offender?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from The Daily Beast’s reporting on Lutnick’s island visit, The Boston Globe’s coverage of the DOJ document release, Yahoo News’ analysis of the files, Reuters’ reporting on Lutnick’s communications, Raw Story’s coverage of Lutnick’s response, Newsweek’s investigation into Lutnick-Epstein ties, and Rep. Robert Garcia’s letter demanding testimony.

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