A photograph the Justice Department released last month as part of the Epstein files — showing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein’s private Caribbean island — was briefly removed from the DOJ website before being restored Thursday night.
CBS News authenticated the image, which depicts Epstein, Lutnick and three other men standing near an oceanside cliff. The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine captured the photo from the DOJ site on Jan. 31, and it was also archived via Jmail, a web tool used to preserve Epstein-related material. The image was filed under EFTA01230639; the link later returned a “Page not found” message but was reinstated within hours of CBS News publishing its report. CBS News has sought comment from the Commerce Department and the DOJ.
Documents newly released in the Epstein files show that in 2012 Lutnick, his wife and their four children planned a visit to Little St. James. He was invited for lunch on Dec. 24, 2012, and Epstein’s assistant later wrote on Epstein’s behalf that “it was nice seeing you.”
Testifying before Congress this month, Lutnick acknowledged the visit. He said they “had lunch on the island” for about an hour and left together with his wife, children and nannies, describing the trip as a family vacation. He has not been accused of wrongdoing and told lawmakers he had “nothing to hide.”
Lutnick has faced scrutiny over his ties to Epstein, who had been a neighbor in New York City. Lutnick has said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005, but the files show business interactions as late as 2014: documents tie the two to a now-defunct advertising company called Adfin. Communications in 2018 include a message from Epstein asking, “on another note what do you think the prospects for adfin are??”
Also in 2018, Lutnick emailed Epstein about proposed plans to expand the Frick Collection near their homes, warning the renovation could “block your sunlight and views” and urging action: “You should put in a letter. I’m sending a lawyer. Don’t ignore this.”
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal sex‑trafficking charges and died in jail that year; his death was ruled a suicide.