US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed during Senate testimony on February 10 that he visited the island of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2012. This contradicts his previous statements that he had cut off contact with Epstein in 2005.
This was reported by the BBC.
“I actually had lunch with him when we were on a boat on a family vacation. I had my wife, four kids and a nanny with me. We had lunch on the island for about an hour,” Lutnick said during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.
Correspondence about the visit is contained in Epstein documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice. According to them, Lutnik visited Epstein’s Caribbean island on December 23, 2012 — four years after Epstein was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Earlier, in October 2025, Lutnick said he had broken up with Epstein in 2005. He said he had seen a massage table in the middle of the room during a visit to Epstein's New York home. When Lutnick asked why he was there, Epstein replied, with sexual overtones, that he got “the right kind” of massage every day. After that, Lutnick said, he and his wife immediately left.
However, during testimony on February 10, the minister admitted that he had met with Epstein after 2005: “In those 14 years, I met him twice more, as far as I can remember.” In addition to the visit to the island, he had another hour-long meeting with Epstein a year and a half later.
Lutnick noted that among the millions of pages of released documents, only about 10 emails linked him to Epstein, and insisted that he had “no relationship with him and almost nothing in common.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen criticized Lutnick for his controversial statements.
“The problem is not that you did anything wrong in connection with Jeffrey Epstein. The problem is that you completely misrepresented the extent of your relationship with him — to Congress, to the American people, and to the victims of his heinous crimes,” Van Hollen said.
Congressmen from both parties — Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Hanna, who co-authored the Epstein release bill — have called on the secretary to resign, while the White House has said President Donald Trump fully supports Lutnik.
Lutnik is not accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The Jeffrey Epstein case
Jeffrey Epstein had close ties to the highest echelons of American politics and show business. The billionaire was suspected for years of trafficking minors for sexual exploitation, but managed to avoid charges.
In July 2019, the investigation into Epstein's case was resumed: on July 6, he was detained by law enforcement agencies in New York State. The financier was charged with sexual assault and solicitation of minors for prostitution. In the same year, Prince Andrew temporarily stepped down from his duties in the royal family and stopped appearing in public.
On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his cell. The official cause of death is considered suicide. Two prison officers who were supposed to guard Epstein at night admitted that they slept and browsed the Internet during their shifts, even though they were supposed to check the financier's cell every 30 minutes. They admitted to giving false testimony and made a deal with prosecutors.
Epstein's friend and assistant, Gillian Maxwell, was arrested in the summer of 2020. According to the investigation, Maxwell was Epstein's accomplice: she sought out girls under the age of 18, gained their trust, and persuaded them to have sexual relations with the financier. On December 29, 2021, a New York court found Gillian Maxwell guilty of aiding and abetting the sexual abuse of underage girls.