New DOJ files show Lutnick planned Epstein island visit, stayed in touch

By Kate Sullivan

 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick once planned a visit to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s private island and maintained contact with the sex offender far longer than he has previously claimed, according to documents released Friday by the Justice Department. 

In a December 2012 email, Lutnick asked Epstein if it would be possible for his family and another to visit his island during a trip to the Caribbean.

 

“Where are you located (what is exact location for my captain)?” Lutnick, then the chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, wrote in the message. “Does Sunday evening for dinner sound good?”

 

 

Subsequent messages suggest they agreed instead to a Dec 23, 2012 lunch; a day later Lutnick emailed Epstein to say it was nice to see him but did not specify the location of their meeting. 

The documents do not suggest any wrongdoing, but do indicate Lutnick incorrectly characterised the extent of his relationship with Epstein. In a podcast interview with the New York Post last year, the Commerce secretary said he had severed ties with Epstein in 2005 after the financier made a comment about massages during a tour of his home.

 

Following the incident, Lutnick said, he and his wife agreed to “never be in a room with that disgusting person ever again.”

 

“So I was never in the room with him socially, for business, or even philanthropy,” he continued. “If that guy was there, I wasn’t going, because he’s gross.”

 

The documents also indicate that the pair — who were neighbours in Manhattan — continued to exchange messages through 2018, agreeing to oppose a construction project at the Frick Collection across the street from their homes.

 

A Commerce Department spokesperson said Lutnick had limited interactions with Epstein in the presence of his wife, and pointed out that the secretary had never been accused of wrongdoing.

 

Lutnick told the New York Times on Friday that he “spent zero time” with Epstein but declined to comment on the documents because he said he had not seen the disclosure. 

 

The Justice Department released millions of additional pictures, phone records and documents related to Epstein on Friday, the latest disclosure intended to comply with a law ordering the files to be made public. As with previous tranches, the release included a mixture of primary documents sent to or from Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as unverified tips and investigative materials.

 

The Epstein release has become a persistent headache for longtime associates, including former President Bill Clinton — who has denied wrongdoing — and President Donald Trump, who, like Lutnick, said that he cut off his relationship with Epstein. Friday’s disclosure included a friendly email exchange between Melania Knauss — now First Lady Melania Trump — and Maxwell, as well as a series of graphic but uncorroborated accusations against the president submitted to FBI tiplines. 

 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Prominent figures in politics, entertainment and finance have appeared in the documents. Inclusion or being mentioned in them doesn’t mean someone engaged in wrongdoing.

 

A convicted sex offender, Epstein was facing federal charges of trafficking underage girls when he died in jail in 2019. Authorities have ruled it a suicide.