A photo showing U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on his private island appeared this week, intensifying calls to have him explain why he was there. President Trump suggested Lutnick will agree to be deposed—and that he is a "very innocent guy, doing a good job."
After a contentious Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing earlier this month in which Lutnick testified that he visited Epstein's Caribbean island in 2012 with his family and others, top committee Democrats pushed Lutnick on Friday for further details on his relationship with the convicted sex offender. In a letter sent to Lutnick, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, a member of the Subcommittee and lead sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requested all records of Lutnick's meetings, phone calls, and correspondence with Epstein or his associates during the time they were acquainted, as well as a timeline of every interaction with Epstein and "answers to questions regarding his nanny," among other items.
The photo was removed from the release after being misidentified as containing nudity. Whatever the reason was for it being hidden, this ultimately guaranteed Lutnick and his trip to "pedophile island" a news cycle all to itself.
"Why are you covering up this picture of Epstein's friend Lutnick?" wrote Representative Ted Lieu. "And are you really so stupid you think deleting a picture after you've posted it on the internet will make it go away?" Three other individuals are shown in the image, along with Epstein and Lutnick, who previously claimed he had distanced himself from Epstein in 2005. The photo is apparently from a 2012 trip that Lutnick recently admitted to.
Lutnick isn't doing anything conspicuously unpleasant in the snapshot, unlike some others exposed by photos contained within the files. One shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman on the floor, and another shows the former Prince laying across the laps of several women with Ghislaine Maxwell visible in the background. Another shows Peter Mandelson, then the EU trade commissioner, trying on a white leather belt in a boutique in St. Barts while being watched by Epstein. Another shows him in his undies.
Appearing in photographs or the files does not constitute evidence of wrongdoing, but it has unraveled lies and suggested misconduct. Both Mountbatten-Windsor and Mandelson were recently arrested in the U.K. over their association with Epstein, in both cases on suspicion of sharing privileged information with him.
Previously:
• NYT finds 38,000+ Trump references in released Epstein documents
• How sleuths are recovering hidden Epstein documents
• NPR: Justice Department withheld Epstein files detailing allegation Trump sexually abused 13-year-old girl
• Director of 'Melania' in the latest Epstein Files drop
