U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick didn’t just cross paths with Jeffrey Epstein—he signed business deals with him for years after he said he had cut the disgraced financier out of his life.
Newly released documents show Lutnick and Epstein were business partners as recently as 2014, contradicting Lutnick’s long-standing public claims that he severed ties with Epstein in 2005.
The records, first reported by CBS News, show both men signing onto the same business deal in late 2012, granting each a stake in a now-defunct advertising tech company called Adfin.
The signing came just days after the two men met in person, according to emails included in the Epstein files.
“Good morning Howard. Jeffrey wished me to pass along the below to you… Nice seeing you,” Epstein’s assistant wrote to Lutnick.
But the business relationship didn’t end there. In January 2013, Epstein’s assistant forwarded documents to Lutnick related to casino legislation in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned Little St. James Island.
Records also show further business-related correspondence connected to Adfin and the venture capital arm of Cantor Fitzgerald—where Lutnick served as Chairman and CEO—continued between Epstein, his associates, and Cantor-linked entities into at least 2014.
The Epstein files also document other points of overlap. In 2017, Epstein agreed to donate $50,000 to a dinner honoring Lutnick, while privately expressing concern about the optics of his involvement.
“Hope pr is ok,” Epstein wrote to one of the event’s organizers.
All of these overlaps, including the Adfin deal, occurred years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida state court in 2008, following an investigation that exposed allegations of far broader sexual abuse.
Despite that history, the newly released records show Epstein continued to maintain professional and personal access to Lutnick well into the following decade.
The documents also undercut Lutnick’s past public statements distancing himself from Epstein.
In a 2023 interview with The New York Post, Lutnick said he and his wife cut off Epstein entirely after visiting his Manhattan townhouse in 2005, calling him “a disgusting person” and insisting they would “never be in the room with him again.”
The Epstein files place Lutnick among a growing group of powerful figures who sought to distance themselves from Epstein long before his crimes became public knowledge.
The paper trail, however, tells a different story.
The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
