From the Washington Examiner: Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary, denied on Tuesday that he misled the public on his past interactions with the late Jeffrey Epstein and downplayed his association with the disgraced child sex offender.
During questioning from Democrats at a Senate appropriations committee hearing on broadband, Lutnick, who for years lived next door to Epstein’s New York City mansion, said he met the billionaire financier three times over the course of 14 years.
“I did not have any relationship with him,” Lutnick testified. “I barely had anything to do with that person.”
Lutnick, himself a billionaire, is under scrutiny after the latest tranche of Epstein filings from the Department of Justice revealed more dealings with Epstein than were previously disclosed, including after he became a convicted sex offender in 2008. Lutnick previously claimed he and his wife severed ties with Epstein in 2005, but emails in the Epstein filings showed the two had sporadic contact for years, including as recently as 2018, long after Epstein’s initial guilty plea in Florida for sex crimes involving soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Lutnick planned to get drinks with Epstein in 2011, and Lutnick and his family had lunch on Epstein’s infamous private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012, according to emails. The two also emailed in 2018 about a construction project across the street from their New York residences.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) grilled Lutnick about his interactions with Epstein.
Lutnick explained that he first met Epstein when he and his wife moved into a home that just happened to be next door to Epstein’s home. However, he insisted that he very rarely saw him, and had no actual relationship with him.
When asked about his trip to Epstein’s island, Lutnick explained, “I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple — they were there as well with their children, and we had lunch on the island. That is true, for an hour, and we left with all of my children, with my nannies, and my wife all together. We were on family vacation. We were not apart. To suggest there was anything untoward about that in 2012 — I don’t recall why we did it.”
Van Hollen acknowledged that no allegations had been made against Lutnick, but suggested he may have been misleading about his interactions with Epstein.
“I met Jeffrey Epstein when I moved to a house next door to him in New York. Over the next 14 years, I met him two other times that I can recall — two times — and that is none for six years,” Lutnick explained.
WATCH THE FULL EXCHANGE BELOW:
Sen. @ChrisVanHollen: “Did you in fact make the visit to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island?”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: “I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation…We had lunch on the island, that is true.” pic.twitter.com/Z55sk1zSvs
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 10, 2026
In October, Lutnick was interviewed by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine about how he met Epstein.
He explained that when he and his wife, Allison, bought their new home, which happened to be next door to Epstein’s home, they got a knock on the door one day and someone said Epstein wanted to invite them over for coffee.
Lutnick said Epstein offered to give them a tour of his home, and explained the bizarre moment when they came to a room with a massage table. Lutnick said that was the moment he and his wife decided it was time to go, and vowed to never be with the man again.
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