Washington’s political corridors are buzzing after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dropped a bombshell at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. He openly acknowledged dining on Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious Little St. James island in 2012 with his family during a vacation stopover.
Describing the brief visit, Lutnick said, ‘We stopped for lunch for about an hour while traveling from St. Barts. It happened.’ Dismissing any deeper connection, he added, ‘No relationship with him. Minimal contact at best.’
The confession contradicts his earlier assertion of cutting ties with Epstein in 2005. Fresh Justice Department files unsealed in January reveal persistent links, including business transactions persisting until 2014, as reported by various outlets.
Bipartisan backlash is intensifying. Democrats have long targeted Lutnick, but now even Republican voices are joining the chorus demanding his ouster amid the Epstein saga’s renewed scrutiny.
Epstein’s dark legacy includes a 2008 guilty plea for underage prostitution charges and a 2019 federal indictment for sex trafficking. His jailhouse death on August 10, 2019, sparked endless conspiracy theories.
Under the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act signed by President Trump, the Justice Department has unleashed a torrent of records: 3+ million pages, 2,000+ videos, and 180,000 images. Deputy AG Todd Blanche highlighted the Herculean task, involving 500+ experts from the FBI and beyond in a 75-day marathon of reviews and meetings.
Lutnick’s admission has supercharged the debate over elite connections to Epstein, potentially jeopardizing his position and prompting deeper investigations into Trump’s cabinet choices.