Lutnick says he was surprised by invite to visit Epstein's island

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a closed-door House Oversight Committee interview Wednesday that he was surprised and unsettled when Jeffrey Epstein invited him to his private island in 2012.

Lutnick said he was on a family vacation in the Caribbean when Epstein’s assistants somehow learned he was in the area and extended the invitation. He claimed he had no personal or professional relationship with the convicted sex offender and had cut all ties after a disturbing 2005 encounter at Epstein’s house involving a comment about massages.

Yet Department of Justice files show Lutnick continued corresponding with Epstein in 2011 and planned a trip to Little Saint James. An undated photo from the files shows Lutnick on the island with Epstein. After the visit, both men signed a document for stakes in a technology company called Adfin.

Lutnick later testified in the Senate that the 2012 stop lasted only about one hour and insisted he “barely had anything to do with that person.”

The Oversight Committee is investigating Epstein’s network and high-profile associates. Chairman James Comer said a transcript of Lutnick’s interview will be released but no video. Leon Black and Bill Gates are scheduled to testify in June.