Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently revealed he was in the dark for years about his next-door neighbor, Jeffrey Epstein, being a registered sex offender. This revelation came to light through a transcript of Lutnick’s testimony, which the House Oversight Committee published on Wednesday.
During his testimony, Lutnick recounted a particularly unsettling encounter with Epstein, where the latter made a “crude” comment about receiving “the right kind of massage.” Lutnick recalled, “He said it to me while my wife was standing next to me, and we exchanged glances before deciding to leave.”
Lutnick volunteered to testify behind closed doors on May 6, where he addressed questions about his connections with Epstein and the inconsistency in his past statements about their relationship. His testimony aimed to clarify misunderstandings regarding his ties with the disgraced financier.
However, the session was not without controversy. Democrats on the committee criticized Lutnick for his alleged evasiveness, accusing him of distorting the English language to mislead the public. They even went as far as to demand his resignation, citing his shifting accounts of his interactions with Epstein as a basis.
In contrast, GOP Rep. James Comer, who chairs the Oversight Committee, defended Lutnick. He accused the Democrats of manipulating Lutnick’s statements to fit a preconceived “narrative” intended to discredit President Trump. This political clash underscores the deep divisions over how Epstein’s connections are scrutinized within the halls of power.
But GOP Rep. James Comer, the Oversight Committee’s chairman, said Democrats were twisting Lutnick’s words and had come into the interview to push a “narrative” to damage President Trump.
“It’s never about holding people accountable that should have prosecuted Epstein years ago. It’s always about Donald Trump,” Comer told reporters on May 6.
The files revealed that Epstein and Lutnick were in business together as recently as 2014, investing simultaneously in a now-shuttered advertising company called Adfin.
Lutnick said during the deposition that he was unaware Epstein was also an early investor in the company.
Lutnick has for years insisted he had little relationship with Epstein, who was his neighbor in New York City, but has more recently acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private island with his family in 2012 — after the files documenting the trip were made public.
Lutnick, his wife, Allison, and their children visited Little St. James, Epstein’s Caribbean island, not long before Epstein and Lutnick invested in Adfin. An undated photo from the files shows Epstein and Lutnick among a group of men on the island.
U.S. Department of Justice / Internet Archive 
Lutnick, the former chairman of the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, has previously said he cut ties with Epstein in 2005, three years before Epstein entered a guilty plea to state prostitution charges in Florida.
Lutnick told the committee he purchased the property next to Epstein’s home on New York’s Upper East Side in 1997, but didn’t move in until after renovations were complete in 2005. Lutnick said he met Epstein just three times, including his family’s island visit.
During the 2005 visit, a coffee and tour of Epstein’s townhouse that Lutnick said his wife also joined, he said he was turned off by a crude comment related to a massage table in the home, and he concluded he didn’t want a relationship with Epstein. He also described one other meeting, a discussion about Epstein’s foyer.
Lutnick was the latest in a parade of powerful people to testify for the committee after their names or pictures appeared in the more than 3 million pages of records known as the Epstein files. Others who testified include the executors of Epstein’s estate, as well as former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire businessman Les Wexner. They have not been accused of wrongdoing and denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuses.
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has agreed to testify before the panel later this month.
