Department of Justice files released on Friday indicate that Howard Lutnick, US secretary of commerce, arranged to visit Jeffrey Epstein’s island in 2012.
2012 Island Visit Arrangements
On November 20, 2012, Epstein’s assistant emailed Lutnick, acknowledging his planned presence in St. Thomas during the holidays and providing Epstein’s contact information for a potential meeting.
On December 19, 2012, Lutnick emailed "Jeff," stating that he, his wife, children, and friends were on his boat in the Caribbean. Lutnick informed Epstein they would arrive in St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon and planned to move to St. Bart’s/Anguilla by Monday. He asked for Epstein's exact location and proposed dinner on Sunday evening.
A redacted individual responded with Epstein's location ("little st james") and suggested "sat or sunday lunch?".
On December 24, Epstein emailed his assistant with the subject line "please forward to howard lutnik" and the body "nice seeing you, read #2 dot three," which the assistant then forwarded to Lutnick. This exchange suggests a meeting occurred.
Lutnick, when reached by The New York Times on Friday, stated he could not comment on the island visit as he had not seen the latest documents.
"I spent zero time with him," Lutnick added, before ending the call.
2015 Fundraiser Invitation
Newly released documents also indicate Lutnick invited Epstein to a 2015 fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. An email dated November 3, 2015, shows Epstein's assistant forwarding an invitation from Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, for a "very intimate fundraising event" for Hillary Clinton on November 11. It remains unclear whether Epstein attended the event.
The New York Post reported on a fundraiser held that month at Lutnick’s home, which it described as being "next door to Jeffrey Epstein’s house." It is not clear if this was the same event mentioned in the documents.
Previous Interactions
Lutnick previously acknowledged in a podcast interview with The New York Post’s Miranda Devine that Epstein was his neighbor. He recounted a 2005 incident where Epstein invited him and his wife into his home for a tour.
Lutnick described seeing a massage table surrounded by candles in a room. When he asked about it, Epstein reportedly stated he had a massage "Every day" and then made a remark about "the right kind of massage." Lutnick stated that he and his wife left immediately and decided to avoid Epstein socially, for business, or philanthropy moving forward.
The Commerce Department and Cantor Fitzgerald did not immediately respond to comment requests regarding the 2015 email and fundraiser.