{"id":129551,"date":"2026-02-11T00:57:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/129551\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T00:57:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:57:34","slug":"howard-lutnick-admits-to-senators-he-visited-epsteins-infamous-island-as-resignation-calls-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/129551\/","title":{"rendered":"Howard Lutnick admits to senators he visited Epstein’s infamous\u00a0island as resignation calls grow"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted Tuesday that he\u00a0visited late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s private island<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 after FBI files debunked his claim that he broke off contact in 2005.<\/p>\n

Lutnick, 64, confessed to senators that he had two encounters \u201cthat I can recall\u201d with Epstein after 2005, including a 2012 trip to his so-called \u201cpedophile island\u201d and drinks in 2011, as revealed by the FBI\u2019s\u00a0Jan. 30\u00a0release of case files.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour,\u201d Lutnick told a Senate subcommittee, describing the stop as an innocent and brief stopover with his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not have a relationship with him, I barely had anything to do with that person,\u201d Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a Senate subcommittee about his relationship with late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife. All together. We were on a family vacation. We were not apart\u2026 I don\u2019t recall why we did it, but we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

That visit occurred about seven years after Lutnick\u00a0previously claimed to have broken off relations\u00a0<\/a>with his infamous Upper East Side neighbor, who pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to soliciting prostitution from a minor before facing federal charges in 2019.<\/p>\n

Lutnick told The Post in October that he and his wife Allison were so revolted by a tour of Epstein\u2019s townhouse in 2005 that he \u201cdecided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same interview, the former Cantor Fitzgerald CEO\u00a0described Epstein as \u201cthe greatest blackmailer ever\u201d and said \u201cthat\u2019s how he had money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lutnick, who has been an important trade negotiator in President Trump\u2019s second term, insisted that his evolving recollection didn\u2019t hint at any wrongdoing and that \u201cI have nothing to hide \u2014 absolutely nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the island visit, Lutnick copped to a May 2011 meeting with Epstein, which also was documented in emails mass-released by the FBI pursuant to a congressional transparency law.<\/p>\n

Lutnick told The Post in October that he and his wife Allison were so revolted by a tour of Epstein\u2019s townhouse in 2005. DOJ<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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 \u2014 two times \u2014 and that is none for six years,\u201d Lutnick said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked through the millions of documents for my name, just like everybody else. And what I found was there was a document that said I had a meeting with him in May, I think, for an hour at 5 o\u2019clock,\u201d he said, confirming the second additional meeting.<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis<\/a><\/p>\n

In further questioning, Lutnick said that he wasn\u2019t aware of the reason Epstein wanted to meet one of his nannies, as indicated by a document in the FBI cache, and brushed off emails indicating they may have partnered in business, philanthropy and neighborhood activism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be 10 emails connecting me with him \u2014 probably about 10 emails connecting me with him over a 14-year period,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person. Okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of Congress\u00a0have a called on Lutnick to resign\u00a0<\/a>for his Epstein ties, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.)<\/p>\n

\u2018Really cracks our narrative\u2019<\/p>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt admonished reporters Tuesday afternoon for continuing to focus on the Epstein case, arguing that it amounted to a distraction from news with broader public impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis week, national median rents have fallen to a four-year low [and] mortgage affordability this week surged to a four-year high, but not a single mention of that in this briefing room today,\u201d Leavitt chided.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor an unprecedented ninth straight month, there were zero illegal border crossings at the southern border.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Saint James, private island in the US Virgin Islands. Formerly owned by Jeffrey Epstein. Images taken Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024. Shutterstock for NY Post<\/p>\n

Leavitt said that \u201cSecretary\u00a0Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump\u2019s team, and the president fully supports the secretary.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Trump\u2019s first term, a different member of his Cabinet, then-Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, resigned in 2019 after scrutiny of his role brokering Epstein\u2019s 2008 plea, which critics called a slap on the wrist.<\/p>\n

The enormous volume of documents released by the FBI has led to a steady trickle of revelations \u2014 as members of Congress on Monday began reviewing unredacted files.<\/p>\n

A 2019 FBI file surfaced Monday quoting a former Palm Beach, Fla., police chief recalling that Trump, who says he broke off relations with Epstein in the early 2000s, called him in 2006 to\u00a0encourage him to look into \u201cevil\u201d Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a>, the only other person prosecuted in a vast sex-trafficking ring the Justice Department says had more than 1,000 victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure many of you, when you read that, that alleged FBI report, probably thought to yourself, \u2018Wow, this really cracks our narrative that we\u2019ve been trying to push about this president for many years,\u2019\u201d Leavitt said.<\/p>\n

In this handout, the mug shot of Jeffrey Epstein, 2019. Kypros<\/p>\n

Trump has described Democratic interest in the Epstein case as a \u201choax\u201d designed to damage him politically, while Republicans have focused on former President\u00a0Bill Clinton\u2019s own Epstein links<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The lack of prosecution of men associated with Epstein \u2014 including an array of the world\u2019s most powerful politicians and businessmen \u2014 has stoked sustained bipartisan outrage and public interest.<\/p>\n

Six associates of Epstein were \u201clikely incriminated\u201d\u00a0<\/a>by their inclusion in files detailing the years-long investigation of the notorious financier, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Massie told reporters Monday after reviewing undredacted documents at the Justice Department.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Khanna read those names on the House floor Tuesday \u2014 which grants him legal immunity \u2014 naming billionaire Victoria\u2019s Secret businessman Les Wexner and Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Saleem, and lesser-known men Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, and Nicola Caputo.<\/p>\n

Massie claimed in September that the FBI knows of 20 powerful men who allegedly victimized young women and girls \u2014 naming just one,\u00a0Barclays bank CEO Jes Staley<\/a>, who quickly resigned his job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Allegations involving Epstein have tarnished the reputations of many others, including Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of King Charles III, who\u00a0revoked his kin\u2019s title of \u201cprince\u201d\u00a0<\/a>last year after sustained coverage of rape allegations by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.<\/p>\n

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u00a0is\u00a0also on the rocks<\/a>\u00a0over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US despite his ties to Epstein.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted Tuesday that he\u00a0visited late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s private island\u00a0\u2014 after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[55770,6769,9,11,10,87,58],"class_list":["post-129551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-howard-lutnick","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-politics","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}