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‘Nice seeing you’: New Epstein files show Trump’s commerce secretary had planned lunch meet at island
Emails show, Jeffrey Epstein and Howard Lutnick arranged to meet for lunch on December 23, 2012, on Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James.
The US Justice Department on Friday made public millions of additional files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with newly released emails reportedly indicating that US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick had planned a lunch meeting on Epstein’s private Caribbean island years after he said he had cut off contact with him.
The document dump, described by officials as the final scheduled release under the Trump administration, also includes email exchanges involving billionaire Elon Musk, who declined an invitation to visit the island but asked Epstein about possible parties, as reported by Reuters news agency.
Planned lunch on Little Saint James
Among the records are emails showing that Epstein and Lutnick arranged to meet for lunch on December 23, 2012, on Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, the news agency's report said.
That morning, Lutnick’s wife emailed Epstein’s secretary, writing, “We are heading towards you from St. Thomas” and asking where to anchor, the report added. A day later, Epstein’s assistant sent Lutnick a follow-up message from Epstein that read in part, “Nice seeing you.”
Another email from November 2015 shows Epstein’s assistant forwarding him an invitation from Lutnick to attend a fundraiser at his financial firm for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Campaign finance records show Lutnick donated $2,700 to Clinton’s campaign, the maximum legal amount at the time. Clinton later lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump.
Emails appear to conflict with Lutnick’s past comments
The latest released correspondence, cited by Reuters, contrasts with Lutnick’s remarks on a podcast last year, where he said he distanced himself from Epstein around 2005 after an uncomfortable visit to Epstein’s townhome.
Lutnick said Epstein made a sexually suggestive remark about a massage table during that visit. According to the Reuters report, the commerce secretary said he vowed to "never be in a room" with Epstein again.
Responding to the latest release, a Commerce Department spokesperson said Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”
Musk declined island invite
Separate emails show an exchange between Epstein and Elon Musk about a visit to the island.
Replying on Christmas Day in 2012, Musk wrote, “The invitation is much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what I'm looking for.” He added that he had been “working to the edge of sanity” and asked Epstein if he had “any parties planned.”
Epstein responded that he understood Musk’s decision not to visit and added that “the ratio on my island” might make Musk’s female companion uncomfortable, without providing details.
Days later, Musk invited Epstein to join him and others for drinks in "St. Bart's," likely referring to the Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy. The records cited by Reuters do not indicate whether that meeting took place.
Earlier last year, after the tech-billionaire's name appeared in an earlier set of Epstein files, Musk wrote on X: “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island, and I REFUSED.”
Final batch of Epstein files released
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the newly published material marks the end of the administration’s planned disclosures under a transparency law covering Epstein-related records.
According to Blanche, the release includes more than 3 million pages of documents, along with 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. He announced the figures at a press conference on Friday.
The files contain hundreds of documents that mention Trump, many of them consisting of previously published media reports compiled by investigators.
President Donald Trump has denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. However, the case has continued to follow him politically, especially after he pledged during his 2024 campaign to release Epstein-related records but did not immediately do so after taking office.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019. Authorities ruled the death a suicide. The case has since generated multiple conspiracy theories, some of which Trump amplified during his 2024 presidential campaign.
(With Reuters inputs)
