February 12, 2026investigationcabinet accountabilitycongressional oversightexecutive branch ethicsoversightaccountabilityexecutive branch
Epstein files show Howard Lutnick had a 13-year relationship with Epstein
Released Epstein files revealed that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick maintained correspondence and business dealings with Jeffrey Epstein for at least 13 years, contradicting his Senate confirmation testimony in which he claimed he cut ties with Epstein after a single 2005 visit. Documents showed Lutnick and Epstein co-invested in a digital advertising firm called Adfin in 2012, and that Lutnick brought his wife and four children to lunch on Epstein's private Caribbean island that same year. Democrats wrote that Lutnick's testimony was "demonstrably false."