House Transcript Details Lutnick's 2005 Epstein Home Visit and 2012 Island Lunch

The House Oversight Committee has released a transcript of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's closed-door testimony, which describes a 2005 visit to Jeffrey Epstein's New York home and a 2012 lunch on Epstein's private island. The testimony was given on May 6 and published by lawmakers on May 13 following the May 6 hearing. BBC News first reported details from the testimony, and PBS NewsHour later published the full document. It records an encounter Lutnick called "off-putting" and reveals contact that took place years after Lutnick previously told Congress he had ended his relationship with Epstein. The committee decided to release the full transcript following scrutiny of public statements in which Lutnick publicly characterized the extent of his ties to Epstein.

The Details

Lutnick told the committee that he and his wife visited Epstein's New York residence in 2005. During the visit, they were shown a room that contained a massage table and candles. According to the transcript, Epstein remarked that he got "the right kind of massage" every day. In his testimony, Lutnick described the comment as "off-putting." He said the couple left after that encounter, ending the 2005 visit.

The testimony also describes a second meeting that occurred years later. Lutnick said that while he was vacationing near St. Thomas with family and friends in 2012, he and his group accepted an invitation to lunch on Epstein's private island. He said the 2012 visit to the island came in the form of a lunch invitation while he was on vacation. He testified that the group remained outside throughout the visit, did not go inside any buildings, and left shortly after the meal was finished. "We sat outside, had lunch. It was boring. We left," Lutnick said. He also told the committee: "What I still cannot understand is this. Without any communication for years, [how] would he inexplicably know where I'm going? It's unsettling, actually." The 2012 encounter is one of two distinct contacts Lutnick described during his testimony before the committee.

The House Oversight Committee released the transcript on May 13, according to PBS NewsHour. PBS reported that lawmakers published the full document after scrutiny revealed that Lutnick's public accounts of his relationship with Epstein did not match what he had told the committee in closed session on May 6. PBS noted that the scrutiny focused on contradictory public accounts of the extent of his ties to Epstein.

Reuters separately reported on May 6 that Lutnick testified he could not recall why his family accepted the invitation to the island lunch. That report provided independent corroboration of the 2012 visit. The Reuters coverage confirmed the island lunch on the same day the testimony was delivered, offering an early account of the 2012 visit before the full transcript was later made public by the committee on May 13.

Context

The release of Lutnick's testimony is part of a broader House Oversight Committee investigation into the federal government's handling of cases involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. As part of that inquiry, the committee has sought testimony from multiple high-profile figures in connection with the investigation. The committee is reviewing the federal government's handling of cases tied to Epstein and Maxwell.

The transcript highlights a clear discrepancy between Lutnick's earlier statements and the newly disclosed testimony. Lutnick had previously told Congress that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005. The May 6 testimony, however, confirms direct contact in 2012, including the island lunch. In the testimony, Lutnick frames the island lunch as a brief, incidental encounter rather than a renewed relationship. The contradiction between his prior claim of ending contact in 2005 and the documented 2012 visit is a central focus of the newly released material, according to the reporting on the transcript.

Neither Lutnick nor Ted Waitt were accused of wrongdoing by Epstein's victims in the reporting that accompanied the transcript release, according to BBC News.

What's Next

The House Oversight Committee is continuing its broader investigation into the federal government's handling of cases involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and the release of Lutnick's testimony adds to the material gathered from high-profile figures. The transcript remains part of the record as scrutiny continues over Lutnick's contradictory public accounts of his relationship with Epstein going forward.