Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admits he had lunch with Jeffrey Epstein on the financier’s private island in 2012, drawing bipartisan scrutiny and fresh questions about past ties
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted on Tuesday that he ate lunch with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein’s private island in 2012, contradicting his earlier statements that he cut ties with Epstein years ago.
The admission came during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, where Lutnick said of the visit: “I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation.”
Lutnick told senators that the lunch occurred while he was on a family trip, and that his wife, their four children and the family’s nannies were all present. “And we had lunch on the island, that is true, for an hour,” he added.
The revelation has triggered bipartisan calls for his resignation, with figures from both parties pressing Lutnick over inconsistencies between the newly released Department of Justice files and his past claims. Republican Representative Thomas Massie said Lutnick should consider stepping down, saying that if similar controversies occurred in other countries, officials “would already be gone.”
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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Lutnick, saying he “remains a very important member” of President Trump’s Cabinet and has the administration’s full support.
Lutnick has maintained that he “barely had anything to do” with Epstein and met him only a handful of times over many years, even as the new disclosure undercuts previous assertions that he severed contact after 2005.
The recent unsealing of Jeffrey Epstein’s files, has brought several prominent names back into the spotlight. Key political figures frequently mentioned include President Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as former Prince Andrew. The latest DOJ records highlight tech titans Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Sergey Brin, with some documents featuring a 2015 dinner photo including Mark Zuckerberg.
Other notable mentions involve Steve Bannon, Italian politician Matteo Salvini, and Soon-Yi Previn (Woody Allen’s wife), whose private emails discussed topics ranging from college admissions to the #MeToo movement. High-profile celebrities like
Michael Jackson, David Copperfield, and Leonardo DiCaprio also appear in witness depositions or social logs. While many individuals are cited only as social acquaintances or passengers on flight manifests, the 2026 files offer deeper insights into Epstein’s attempts to leverage these elite connections for personal and professional influence.
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