Trump Cabinet Member Howard Lutnick Confronted on 2012 Epstein Island Lunch and 2015 Fundraiser

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick faced pointed questions from the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday over his past dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, including a family lunch on the disgraced financier's private island in 2012 and an invitation extended to him for a 2015 fundraiser.

The senior Trump cabinet member has long maintained he cut all ties with Epstein following an unsettling encounter at the latter's New York home in 2005. Yet justice department files released earlier this year tell a different story, prompting the closed-door testimony that has put one of the administration's most prominent economic voices under the spotlight.

The 2012 Epstein Island Lunch

Lutnick told committee members he could not recall why his family agreed to the lunch on Epstein's Caribbean island on 23 December 2012, some seven years after he claimed to have severed contact. The commerce secretary said the visit occurred during a family vacation in the US Virgin Islands. He, his wife, their four children, nannies and another couple with children spent roughly an hour there before leaving together.

In February testimony to a Senate appropriations subcommittee as reported on CNN, he had already confirmed the meeting but insisted there was nothing untoward. 'I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation,' he said then. The files showed emails coordinating the visit, contradicting his earlier podcast claim that he would never be in the room with Epstein again after the 2005 incident.

Lutnick added that the invitation had felt unsettling, as he had no idea how Epstein's assistants knew of his travel plans. The episode has hardly come as a surprise to those following the release of the Epstein files. Lutnick, who was then chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, had previously described their relationship as minimal.

The 2015 Clinton Fundraiser and Further Contacts

The Epstein files also detail how Lutnick invited the convicted sex offender to a very intimate fundraising event for Hillary Clinton held at his firm in November 2015. Epstein, in turn, donated $50,000 (£36,700) to a 2017 dinner honouring Lutnick, though it remains unclear whether he attended as mentioned in an AP News report.

The pair had additionally invested in the same business venture in 2013 and maintained email contact into 2018 about a museum expansion near their New York homes. The commerce secretary has repeatedly stressed he had no knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities and has welcomed the opportunity to clarify the record.

An Instagram post by the verified New York Post account showed Lutnick arriving on Capitol Hill for the voluntary testimony, noting reports of the 2012 island lunch and the 2015 Clinton fundraiser invitation.

Committee Reactions and Implications

Republican chair James Comer praised Lutnick's cooperation and said he had seen no evidence of wrongdoing in the correspondence. He indicated the full transcript would be released for the public to judge. Democrats were more sceptical, pointing to inconsistencies in Lutnick's statements.

The hearing is the latest congressional examination of Epstein's network, more than six years after the financier's death in 2019. As of 7 May 2026, Lutnick remains a central figure in the Trump administration, advising on key economic policies including tariffs.

The confrontation over his 2012 Epstein island lunch and 2015 fundraiser has renewed focus on past associations among Washington insiders, though the commerce secretary continues to enjoy full support from the White House.