Freshly released files from the US Justice Department show that Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had planned a visit and a lunch meeting on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2012.
As the US Justice Department on Friday released millions of additional documents linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, newly disclosed emails reportedly indicate that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had planned a trip to Epstein’s private Caribbean island and had also scheduled a lunch meeting there — years after claiming he had cut off contact with him.
According to the documents, Lutnick — who had earlier said he avoided being in the same room as Epstein — planned a visit to the island in 2012. This was several years after he had publicly stated that he had severed ties with Epstein.
The document release, described by officials as the final scheduled disclosure under the Trump administration, also includes email exchanges involving billionaire Elon Musk. While Musk declined an invitation to visit the island, he asked Epstein about possible parties, Reuters reported.
Planned lunch on Little Saint James
Emails show that Epstein and Lutnick arranged to meet for lunch on December 23, 2012, on Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James. On the morning of the planned meeting, Lutnick’s wife emailed Epstein’s secretary saying they were travelling from St Thomas and asked where to anchor.
A day later, Epstein’s assistant sent Lutnick a follow-up message from Epstein that read, in part, “Nice seeing you.”
Another email from November 2015 shows Epstein’s assistant forwarding Lutnick an invitation to attend a fundraiser at Lutnick’s financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Campaign finance records show Lutnick donated $2,700 to Clinton’s campaign, the maximum legal amount at the time. Clinton later lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump.
Emails contrast with Lutnick’s past claims
The correspondence appears to contradict Lutnick’s earlier comments on a podcast last year, where he said he distanced himself from Epstein around 2005 after an uncomfortable visit to Epstein’s townhome.
Lutnick said Epstein made a sexually suggestive remark during that visit, prompting him to vow that he would “never be in a room” with Epstein again.
Responding to the document release, a Commerce Department spokesperson said Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing”.
Elon Musk emails also revealed
Separate emails show exchanges between Epstein and Elon Musk regarding a possible visit to the island. Replying on Christmas Day in 2012, Musk declined the invitation, saying a “peaceful island experience” was not what he was looking for. He added that he had been working intensely and asked Epstein if any parties were planned.
Epstein responded that he understood Musk’s decision and said that “the ratio on my island” might make Musk’s female companion uncomfortable, without providing further details.
Days later, Musk invited Epstein to join him and others for drinks in St Barts. The documents do not indicate whether the meeting took place.
After Musk’s name appeared in earlier Epstein files last year, he wrote on X that Epstein had tried to get him to visit the island and that he refused.
Final batch of Epstein files
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the newly released material marks the final planned disclosure of Epstein-related records under a transparency law.
According to Blanche, the release includes more than 3 million pages of documents, along with 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
The files include hundreds of documents mentioning Donald Trump, many of which consist of previously published media reports compiled by investigators.
Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. However, the case has continued to follow him politically, particularly after he pledged during his 2024 campaign to release Epstein-related records.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019. Authorities ruled his death a suicide. The case has since fuelled multiple conspiracy theories.
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