Epstein Files: Lutnick, Wasserman Face Scrutiny | Commerce Secretary & Entertainment Mogul Linked
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is facing mounting calls for his resignation after newly released Jeffrey Epstein files revealed a more extensive relationship than he previously acknowledged, including business dealings and multiple visits with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child.
The files reveal Lutnick and Epstein were both signatories to an agreement to invest in an advertising technology company, Adfin, in December 2012. Lutnick, through a limited liability company called CVAFH I and Epstein, through his Southern Trust Company, Inc., each acquired stakes in the firm. This contradicts Lutnick’s earlier statements characterizing his interactions with Epstein as “limited.”
Under questioning by Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Lutnick conceded he had met with Epstein twice after the 2008 conviction – once in 2011 and again in 2012. The 2012 meeting involved a lunch with Lutnick’s family on Epstein’s private Caribbean island, Little St. James. This admission reverses Lutnick’s previous claim that he had cut off contact with Epstein after a 2005 visit to Epstein’s New York townhouse left him disturbed.
Emails released in the Epstein files likewise detail communications between Lutnick and Epstein regarding a proposed expansion to the Frick Collection in Manhattan in 2018. Lutnick, then CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, emailed Epstein’s assistant expressing concern that construction would obstruct the view from his and Epstein’s adjacent townhouses. Epstein responded to the email, offering assistance.
Lutnick has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. However, the revelations have prompted bipartisan calls for his resignation. He is currently the highest-ranking Trump administration official prominently named in the Epstein files, outside of President Trump himself.
A source close to Lutnick told CBS News that Cantor Fitzgerald was a “small minority investor” in Adfin and that Lutnick would not have been aware of all other investors at the time of the deal. Despite this, the business connection, coupled with the documented visits after Epstein’s conviction, continues to fuel scrutiny of Lutnick’s past associations.
The Senate hearing on February 10th saw Lutnick grilled over his ties to Epstein, where he confirmed the family visit to Epstein’s island for lunch. As of February 15, 2026, Lutnick has not addressed the specific details of the Adfin investment or the 2018 email exchange with Epstein beyond his initial statements to lawmakers.