Howard Lutnick’s 13-Year Epstein Ties Revealed in DOJ Records

Howard Lutnick, the billionaire former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and current U.S. Commerce Secretary under President Donald Trump, maintained regular interactions with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein over at least 13 years, according to records released last week by the Justice Department and detailed in a New York Times report.

The two lived next door to each other on Manhattan’s affluent Upper East Side, where their townhouses shared a wall, facilitating frequent contact on neighborhood matters, philanthropic discussions, and personal matters. Emails and other documents show they communicated through intermediaries as late as 2018, with Epstein’s assistant coordinating potential meetups in the Caribbean and Lutnick inviting Epstein (via staff) to events like a 2015 Hillary Clinton fundraiser hosted by Cantor Fitzgerald.

Lutnick has repeatedly claimed he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 after a disturbing tour of his home, describing him as “gross” and insisting he spent “zero time” with him socially or professionally afterward, but the released files contradict these assertions by revealing ongoing correspondence and shared activities well beyond that date.

Further complicating Lutnick’s account, the records indicate he and Epstein invested together in the same privately held company, including stakes in the now-defunct advertising technology firm Adfin around 2012–2014, years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea to sex crimes in Florida. They also appear to have socialized in New York and the Caribbean, with documents showing Lutnick planned a family trip to Epstein’s private island, Little St. James, in December 2012, including arrangements for yacht travel and potential dinners.

While the files do not accuse Lutnick of any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s criminal activities, the revelations have sparked bipartisan calls for his resignation from lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who argue the extent of the ties undermines his prior denials.

A Commerce Department statement described the interactions as “very limited” and noted they occurred mostly in the presence of Lutnick’s wife, attributing the scrutiny to attempts to distract from the administration’s priorities.