Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick opened up about his brief but unsettling brush with Jeffrey Epstein in a podcast interview this week, painting a vivid picture of the convicted sex offender’s predatory tactics. As Epstein’s former neighbor in 2005, Lutnick described touring the financier’s sprawling New York home, only to stumble upon a setup that screamed foul play.
“Massage table in the middle of your house? How often do you have a massage?” Lutnick recalled asking Epstein, who replied flatly, “Every day.” But the exchange took a darker turn when Epstein leaned in uncomfortably close and added, “And the right kind of massage.”
This moment, Lutnick explained, was enough to send alarm bells ringing. With his wife by his side, they made a swift exit from the house. In the short walk back to their own place next door, the couple agreed on one thing: “I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”
Lutnick stuck to that vow, steering clear of Epstein in social, business, and even charitable circles. “If that guy was there, I wasn’t going because he’s gross,” he said.
His account sheds light on how Epstein’s seemingly innocuous invitations could mask something far more sinister, luring high-profile guests into private spaces where boundaries blurred and risks mounted.
Lutnick didn’t mince words about Epstein’s broader scheme. He labeled the disgraced financier “the greatest blackmailer ever,” insisting that extortion was the real source of Epstein’s fortune rather than savvy investments. “This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever, blackmailed people. That’s how he had money,” Lutnick stated.
He tied this directly to Epstein’s obsession with massages, which served as a gateway to compromise. “They get a massage, that’s what his MO was. ‘Get a massage, get a massage,’ and what happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video,” Lutnick elaborated.
Lutnick went further, accusing Epstein’s associates of not just overlooking red flags but actively engaging in the misconduct. When asked about figures like Bill Gates, who maintained ties with Epstein long after his 2008 conviction, Lutnick was blunt: “No, they participated.”
He speculated that the infamous videos from those massage sessions might explain Epstein’s lenient 2008 plea deal, which saw him serve just 18 months with work-release privileges despite being a serial offender. “I assume way back when they traded those videos in exchange for him getting that 18-month sentence, which allowed him to have visits and be out of jail,” Lutnick said, adding, “It must have been a trade. So my assumption, I have no knowledge. My assumption is there was a trade for the videos because there were people on those videos.”
The interview, hosted by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine on her “Pod Force One” podcast, also touched on President Donald Trump’s past association with Epstein. Lutnick shared that Trump was aware of his own quick decision to cut ties after the creepy encounter.
“No, I mean he knows the story. My story, I was one and done with the guy. He knows that story but that’s it,” Lutnick noted. When pressed on whether Trump shared similar misgivings, Lutnick pivoted to commend the president’s focus and energy, describing how Trump tackles critical issues with remarkable efficiency. “I’m doing the most important thing that I see. And then right after we do that, he does 10 other things that are as, if not more important, that are not my thing. And you’re like ‘Wow!’. And he is great at it,” he said.
Lutnick’s candid recollections serve as a stark reminder of Epstein’s manipulative world, where influence peddling met outright predation. By speaking out, he not only distances himself and the administration from the scandal but also calls attention to the unanswered questions about who else might have been ensnared—and why justice feels incomplete.
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