Trump commerce chief admits travelling to Epstein island, faces calls to resign

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick minimised his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein Tuesday even as he acknowledged visiting the disgraced financier at his private island in 2012 after Epstein was a convicted sex offender.Lutnick, speaking to a Senate panel, described going to Epstein’s island after being asked in Tuesday’s hearing about Justice Department documents showing he had planned a visit.“I did have lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation, my wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,” Lutnick told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.Lutnick added, “The only thing I saw with my wife and my children and the other couple and their children was staff who worked for Mr Epstein on that island.”Justice Department documents released in recent weeks indicate Lutnick previously incorrectly characterised the extent of his relationship with Epstein.A drone view shows a pool on Little St James, a small private island formerly owned by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein in the US Virgin Islands, in November 2025. Photo: ReutersIn an interview on the Pod Force One podcast last year, Lutnick described moving into a house next door to Epstein in 2005 and being so troubled by him that he and his wife agreed to never be in a room with him again.