Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told members of a congressional committee in a private session that he cannot recall why he and his family lunched on Jeffrey Epstein's private island in 2012, according to lawmakers who attended the testimony.
The two-hour lunch, which was disclosed by a large batch of files the Justice Department released in January, appears to conflict with a public account Lutnick gave previously that he had distanced himself from Epstein years earlier. In a podcast last year, Lutnick said he vowed to "never be in a room" with Epstein after an earlier encounter around 2005 during which Epstein invited Lutnick and his wife to tour his townhome and made a sexually suggestive remark about a massage table.
Representatives at the hearing recounted the exchange with Lutnick. "We asked him over and over again, 'Why did you go to the island?'" Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a Virginia Democrat, said. "He says he doesn’t remember, that it’s inexplicable and he simply didn’t know how to answer the question." The two were also next-door neighbors on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the lawmakers noted.
Representative James Comer, the Republican chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said Lutnick's testimony was voluntary and that he was transparent in responding. Comer relayed that Lutnick told the panel Epstein learned Lutnick's family and friends were vacationing in the Virgin Islands and extended an invitation to join them for lunch.
Comer said the principal discrepancy he saw was that Lutnick had not been fully forthcoming about the brief island visit in earlier public remarks, and that Lutnick corrected that detail during his opening statement to the committee. "If we find that there were any misstatements by Lutnick, it's a felony to lie to Congress and he'll be held accountable," Comer told reporters.
The Justice Department files made public in January included emails indicating Lutnick had indeed visited Epstein's private island for lunch in 2012. Those same documents also showed that Lutnick invited Epstein to a November 2015 fundraiser at his financial firm for then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
At a February 10 congressional hearing earlier this year, Lutnick told lawmakers that he and Epstein exchanged about 10 emails and met three times over a 14-year span. He said his family had lunched with Epstein on the island because they were on a boat nearby and accepted the invitation to join him.
At that hearing Lutnick asserted, "I did not have any relationship with him," and added, "I barely had anything to do with that person."
Jeffrey Epstein previously pleaded guilty in 2008 to state prostitution charges, including soliciting an underage girl, and was sentenced to 13 months in jail. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal charges alleging sex trafficking of minors, and his death that year in a Manhattan jail cell was ruled a suicide.
Details to note
- Lutnick testified privately to a congressional committee that he could not recall why he and his family attended a two-hour lunch on Epstein's private island in 2012.
- Justice Department documents released in January contained emails corroborating the 2012 island lunch and showed Lutnick invited Epstein to a November 2015 political fundraiser.
- Lutnick previously said in public remarks and a podcast that he had vowed never to be in a room with Epstein after a 2005 townhome visit where Epstein made a sexually suggestive comment.
Key points
- The testimony highlights a discrepancy between Lutnick's earlier public statements and the newly disclosed emails indicating a 2012 island meeting, an issue that draws scrutiny for a Cabinet official who formerly led a major financial firm.
- Legal risk is explicit: House Oversight leadership warned that intentional false statements to Congress are a felony and would be pursued if identified.
- Sectors potentially affected by the developments include government oversight of executive branch officials, financial services given Lutnick's past role at a financial firm, and political fundraising due to an invitation to a 2015 fundraiser.
Risks and uncertainties
- Possible legal exposure if investigators determine Lutnick knowingly made false statements to Congress - a risk that directly affects the Secretary and the oversight process.
- Reputational risk for the financial services sector tied to a former CEO's interactions with a convicted sex offender, which could prompt further scrutiny of business and fundraising relationships.
- Uncertainty remains about the full scope of communications and interactions between Lutnick and Epstein, as public records and Lutnick's accounts present differences that lawmakers are probing.