3 weeks ago
The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told lawmakers successful a closed-door question and reply earlier this period that he met Jeffrey Epstein only 3 times and had nary “personal aliases master relationship” pinch nan disgraced financier, according to a recently released transcript of nan meeting.
“I unequivocally condemn nan behaviour attributed to Jeffrey Epstein and everyone who participated successful his forbidden activities,” Lutnick said successful his opening connection earlier nan House oversight and betterment committee.
The comments came during a closed-door question and reply earlier nan House oversight and betterment committee earlier this month, during which lawmakers questioned Lutnick for respective hours astir his erstwhile ties to Epstein and his past statements astir their interactions.
According to nan transcript, released connected Wednesday afternoon, Lutnick said he met Epstein, whom he said lived “adjacent to my New York City home”, connected only 3 occasions. Lutnick said that nan first gathering occurred successful 2005, erstwhile he and his woman were invited for java astatine Epstein’s home. The 2nd was successful 2011, erstwhile he said he concisely visited Epstein’s location to talk “scaffolding”, and nan third, Lutnick said, was successful 2012, erstwhile Epstein invited him, his family and friends to luncheon connected his backstage island.
“To nan champion of my recollection, those were nan only 3 occasions successful which I interacted pinch Epstein successful person,” Lutnick said. “Each and each 1 was meaningless and inconsequential.”
“I had nary individual aliases master narration pinch this individual, contempt nan proximity of our addresses,” he added. “Further, astatine nary clip during these constricted interactions did I witnesser immoderate conduct, fto unsocial nan type of forbidden behaviour of which we person since go aware.”
Lutnick agreed to beryllium for nan transcribed question and reply pinch nan committee successful March, aft nan justness section released millions of documents related to Epstein, including documents showing that Lutnick continued correspondence pinch Epstein aft nan disgraced financier’s 2008 condemnation of soliciting adultery from a minor. The revelation besides contradicted a erstwhile declare Lutnick made connected a podcast past twelvemonth that he and his woman had severed ties pinch Epstein successful 2005 aft visiting his home.
Epstein died successful a Manhattan jailhouse successful 2019, while awaiting proceedings connected national sex-trafficking charges.
Much of nan questioning successful beforehand of nan House sheet centered astir Lutnick’s podcast question and reply from past year.
Lutnick recounted nan 2005 sojourn to Epstein’s location to nan lawmakers, and said that Epstein showed him and his woman astir his townhouse, and that astatine 1 constituent he opened a doorway and location was a massage table.
Lutnick said he asked Epstein why he had a “massage array successful nan mediate of his house” and really often he received massages, to which he said that Epstein responded “every time and nan correct benignant of massage”.
“He said it to me, and my woman is opinionated adjacent to me, and we looked astatine each other, and we left,” Lutnick told lawmakers, adding that he interpreted nan “right benignant of massage” to beryllium “in immoderate shape intersexual successful nature”.
Afterward, he said, he and his woman near Epstein’s location and “discussed that I would not found a individual nor master narration pinch that individual”. He added that “on a podcast successful October 2025, I informally recounted that conversation”.
Democratic lawmakers challenged his statements, noting that Lutnick had said connected nan podcast that he was “never successful nan room pinch him socially, for business, aliases moreover philanthropy” aft 2005.
Lutnick defended his statements, arguing that “it is meticulous arsenic to what I meant, which is I, Howard Lutnick, arsenic a man, would not beryllium successful a business pinch him because I felt him gross and inappropriate and not having boundaries; that I would not put myself successful a room pinch him socially, which I did not, professionally, successful business, which I did not, and philanthropically, which I did not”.
He besides described nan 2012 luncheon connected Epstein’s land and said that Epstein’s unit had go alert that he and his family were going to beryllium adjacent his land complete nan holidays, and reached retired to them and invited them for lunch.
Lutnick said he went, pinch his wife, their 4 children and his friends, who were a couple, on pinch their 4 children and unit , and had a “brief, meaningless, and inconsequential luncheon and past left”.
“So it was astir apt 15, 16 group went for lunch,” Lutnick said. “We sat outside, had lunch. It was boring. We left.”
He said he didn’t spot immoderate young women aliases girls connected nan island.
When asked whether he had ever heard immoderate rumors astir nan island, Lutnick said, “No, of people not,” adding: “In 2019, we each learned tons of information, but thing earlier then,” referring to erstwhile Epstein was charged.
Discussing nan 2011 interaction, Lutnick said that Epstein’s unit had contacted his office, saying that Epstein had wanted to get successful touch pinch him.
“Our offices attempted to link america by telephone complete nan people of respective weeks but were incapable to do so,” he said. So he said he went to Epstein’s home, “sat successful his foyer pinch my dog, waited for him to travel down, heard what he had to say, and left”.
“As acold arsenic I recall, it was astir scaffolding,” he said. “It was meaningless and inconsequential.”
Throughout nan question and reply past week, Lutnick said that he ne'er witnessed Epstein prosecute successful intersexual interaction of immoderate benignant pinch immoderate young female aliases girl, aliases person massages from young women, and said he ne'er saw aliases met immoderate young women aliases girls astatine Epstein’s residence aliases island.
Following nan question and reply pinch Lutnick past week, Democrats connected nan committee lambasted Lutnick’s performance.
“Now we cognize why that question and reply was not videotaped. If Donald Trump had seen nan video transcript, he would’ve fired Howard Lutnick,” said Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman of California, who has helped lead efforts successful Congress to unit nan merchandise of nan justness department’s files related to Epstein. “It was conscionable contortions and lies … He made a farce of nan English language.”
By contrast, James Comer, nan Republican who chairs nan House committee, said that he felt that Lutnick had been “very transparent” and “came present voluntarily”, and said that Lutnick corrected erstwhile statements successful his question and reply connected Wednesday.
Since nan merchandise of nan Epstein files, Lutnick has faced calls from immoderate lawmakers to resign complete his erstwhile ties to Epstein.
Lutnick is nan first existent Trump administration charismatic to attest earlier nan panel. The committee besides issued a lawsuit to Pam Bondi earlier Trump fired her arsenic lawyer wide past month. She is scheduled to look earlier nan committee connected 29 May.
