U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said he had “limited interactions” with Jeffrey Epstein, but documents released among the so‑called Epstein files show they were business partners as recently as 2014.
The records show Lutnick and Epstein each signed on behalf of limited liability companies that on Dec. 28, 2012, agreed to acquire stakes in Adfin, an advertising-technology company that later shut down. Epstein signed for Southern Trust Company, Inc.; Lutnick signed for an LLC called CVAFH I. The contract lists nine shareholders in all, and their signatures appear on adjacent pages.
Emails and other documents in the files indicate continued contact beyond the 2005 date Lutnick has said he and his wife cut ties with Epstein. In 2011, messages show they arranged phone calls and planned to have drinks. In 2012, the Lutnicks and their four children were invited to visit Epstein’s island, Little St. James. Lutnick received an invitation to lunch on Dec. 24, 2012, and Epstein’s assistant later wrote on his behalf, “it was nice seeing you.” The Adfin agreement was signed four days after that lunch.
A source close to Lutnick told CBS News that Cantor Fitzgerald — where Lutnick was long-time CEO and later chairman — was a small minority investor in Adfin, and that as a minority investor Lutnick would not necessarily know the identities of other investors. Eleven days after the Adfin deal, on Jan. 8, 2013, Epstein’s assistant forwarded Lutnick a document related to casino legislation in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein owned property and had business interests; a Lutnick spokesperson says he ignored that document.
The Commerce Department declined to characterize the documents as significant, saying, “This is nothing more than a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration’s accomplishments including securing trillions of dollars in investment, delivering historic trade deals and fighting for the American worker.” The department added, “Secretary Lutnick had limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”
Correspondence involving Adfin continued at least through 2014. One shareholder, David Mitchell, emailed Epstein about additional fundraising that referenced Cantor Ventures, a venture-capital arm of Cantor Fitzgerald. Lutnick had led Cantor since 1991 and became chairman in 1996.
Epstein and Lutnick also had a residential link: Epstein sold a Manhattan property at 11 East 71st Street to an entity named Comet Trust in 1996; that property was sold two years later to Lutnick and became his primary residence next door to Epstein’s townhouse.
By the time Lutnick and Epstein agreed to buy stakes in Adfin, it had been more than four years since Epstein’s controversial 2008 Florida plea deal on state charges that included procuring a child for prostitution. Federal sex‑trafficking charges against Epstein were later filed in 2019; he died in jail shortly after that arrest.
The released files show examples of Epstein’s efforts to manage relationships and public perception. In 2017, he agreed to donate $50,000 to a dinner honoring Lutnick, telling hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson, “hope pr is ok.” Epstein declined to take a donor-level table for the event, saying Lutnick could fill the seats. Their interactions continued into 2018, when Lutnick emailed Epstein about a proposed expansion of the neighboring Frick Collection, warning the renovation might “block your sunlight and views” and urging Epstein to respond, “You should put in a letter. I’m sending a lawyer. Don’t ignore this.”