{"id":2602406,"date":"2026-05-13T19:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lutnick-said-epstein-made-sexual-remark-about-massages-during-2005-visit\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:37:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T23:37:35","slug":"lutnick-said-epstein-made-sexual-remark-about-massages-during-2005-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lutnick-said-epstein-made-sexual-remark-about-massages-during-2005-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Lutnick said Epstein made &#8216;sexual&#8217; remark about massages during 2005 visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flutnick-said-epstein-made-sexual-remark-about-massages-during-2005-visit%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2602406&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told House oversight investigators that during a 2005 visit to Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s townhouse, he heard Epstein make a remark he considered \u201csexual in nature.\u201d Lutnick said his wife and he were alarmed, and he promptly cut the tour short, adding that when investigators asked what Epstein meant by \u201cthe right kind of massage,\u201d Lutnick believed it implied something sexual.<\/p>\n<p>The closed-door,nearly four-hour May 6 transcript adds context to Lutnick\u2019s earlier public statements that he effectively wanted to avoid being alone with Epstein afterward. Committee Chairman James Comer defended Lutnick\u2019s overall candor, noting lutnick had lived next door to Epstein for years but met him in person only three times: in 2005 (the townhouse tour), briefly in 2011 about a neighborhood construction issue, and in 2012 when Lutnick and his family attended a lunch at Epstein\u2019s U.S. Virgin Islands property after Epstein\u2019s staff arranged the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>Lutnick testified he never witnessed Epstein engage in sexual conduct involving young women or girls and never saw inappropriate activity during their encounters. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-witness-says-all-military-ballots-she-saw-looked-like-xerox-copies-of-each-other-100-for-joe-biden-video\/\" title=\"Michigan Witness Says All Military Ballots She Saw Looked Like &quot;Xerox Copies&quot; of Each Other - 100% For Joe Biden (VIDEO)\">oversight committee<\/a> also released a separate transcript from Gateway founder Ted Waitt, who testified he dated Ghislaine maxwell for about six years after meeting her and Epstein in 2003, and later regretted allowing Maxwell around his children. The committee is scheduled to interview additional witnesses, including a prison guard on epstein\u2019s death day (May 19) and Pam Bondi (May 29).  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>Commerce Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/howard-lutnick\/\">Howard Lutnick<\/a> testified before House investigators that he viewed a disturbing comment made by <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jeffrey-epstein\/\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> during a 2005 visit to Epstein\u2019s town house as \u201csexual in nature,\u201d according to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-oversight-committee\/\">House oversight committee<\/a> transcript released Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>The revelation <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Lutnick-Transcript.pdf\">from the transcript<\/a> of Lutnick\u2019s May 6 testimony adds new detail to his previously disclosed account that he cut short a tour of Epstein\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/manhattan\/\">Manhattan<\/a> home after noticing a massage table inside the residence. While Lutnick\u2019s account about witnessing the massage table was previously known, his testimony provides deeper insight into why he said he took lengths to avoid Epstein in the years that followed.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4567499\/house-gop-third-reconciliation-bill-fraud-affordability\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>House GOP plotting third <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-bills-to-build-trumps-ballroom-offered-after-whca-attack\/\" title=\"Five bills to build Trump\u2019s ballroom offered after WHCA attack\">reconciliation bill focused<\/a> on fraud and affordability<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4567472\/rand-paul-son-antisemitic-drunk-mike-lawler\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Rand Paul\u2019s son rants about \u2018gays and Jews\u2019 to Mike Lawler at DC bar<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4566650\/teresa-leger-fernandez-kat-cammack-task-force-against-sexual-harassment\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Teresa Leger Fernandez and Kat Cammack to launch task force against sexual harassment<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testifies before Congress on Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Washington. (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI asked him why he had a massage table in the middle of his house,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-commerce-secy-pick-takes-soft-stance-on-china\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s commerce secy. pick takes soft stance on China\">commerce secretary<\/a> responded. \u201cAnd he said \u2014 my best recollection is, he said, \u2018Every day and the right kind of massage.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>When asked by investigators what he believed Epstein meant by \u201cthe right kind of massage,\u201d Lutnick responded, \u201cThat it would become, in some form, sexual in nature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lutnick said the comment immediately alarmed both him and his wife.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was based on his comment that was inappropriate and gross to me and my wife,\u201d Lutnick testified. \u201cIt just was off-putting, and we left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The testimony was part of a nearly four<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >-hour closed-door transcribed interview conducted<\/a> May 6 by the House oversight committee, as lawmakers continue a sweeping review of Epstein\u2019s network and the conduct of prominent political and business figures tied to him.<\/p>\n<p>Oversight committee Chairman <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/james-comer\/\">James Comer<\/a> (R-KY) defended Lutnick after the interview, arguing the commerce secretary had been transparent in recent months about his limited interactions with Epstein, while acknowledging that he had not been \u201c100% truthful\u201d about some of his earlier responses over his interactions with Epstein.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A collage showing James Comer and Howard Lutnick. (AP photos)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s only so many questions you can ask Howard Lutnick, who lived, had a property next door to Epstein in New York, talked to him three times over a decade,\u201d Comer told reporters after the testimony.<\/p>\n<p>According to testimony and committee descriptions of the evidence, Lutnick and Epstein were neighbors in Manhattan from roughly 2005 to 2019, but only interacted in person three times.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The first interaction was the 2005 town house tour. The second came in 2011, when Lutnick said he briefly visited Epstein regarding a neighborhood dispute involving a construction project.<\/p>\n<p>The third occurred in 2012, when Lutnick and his family attended a lunch at Epstein\u2019s property in the U.S. Virgin Islands while vacationing nearby. Lutnick described it as \u201cunsettling\u201d and \u201cinexplicable\u201d that Epstein\u2019s staff somehow learned his family would be traveling near the island and reached out to arrange the meeting.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A collage of images of Jeffrey Epstein and his private island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI still have no idea how his staff discovered my family\u2019s vacation plans or why they pursued arranging a visit with me,\u201d Lutnick testified.<\/p>\n<p>Lutnick said Epstein initially appeared interested in meeting with him alone, but said his wife insisted any visit would include their entire travel party, which included another family.<\/p>\n<p>He also repeatedly testified that he never witnessed Epstein engage in sexual conduct with young women or girls and never saw inappropriate activity during any of the encounters.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers pressed Lutnick over comments he made publicly last year claiming he was effectively \u201cone and done\u201d with Epstein after the town house visit, despite later documented interactions.<\/p>\n<p>Lutnick defended those statements by arguing he meant he never again placed himself alone in a social or business setting with Epstein after deciding he was \u201cgross\u201d and \u201cdisgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The committee on Wednesday released a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Waitt-Transcript.pdf\">separate transcript <\/a>from Gateway founder Ted Waitt, who testified he dated <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ghislaine-maxwell\/\">Ghislaine Maxwell<\/a> for roughly six years after meeting her and Epstein at a 2003 Hong Kong dinner attended by former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\">Bill Clinton<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring and assisting with Epstein\u2019s abuse of minors, and was convicted in 2021, nearly two years after Epstein\u2019s death in prison while awaiting trial on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ghislaine-maxwell-now-accusing-prison-guard-of-abuse\/\" title=\"Ghislaine ... Now Accusing Prison Guard Of Abuse\">sex trafficking charges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4558018\/howard-lutnick-testifies-epstein-ties-house-oversight-committee\/\"><strong>LUTNICK TESTIFIES ON HIS EPSTEIN TIES BEFORE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Waitt testified that he later regretted allowing Maxwell around his children and said he now viewed Epstein\u2019s circle as part of a broader culture that protected powerful people from scrutiny.<\/p>\n<p>The committee is slated to interview Tova Noel, the prison guard who was on duty at the time of Epstein\u2019s death, on May 19. Former Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\/\">Pam Bondi<\/a> is scheduled to be interviewed later this month on May 29.<\/p>\n<p><em>Lauren Green contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Howard Lutnick told House investigators Epstein\u2019s 2005 comment sounded sexual<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2602407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/042326_WEX_HOWARD_LUTNICK-21-e1776965293320.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[79637,51194,50626,79636,79635],"class_list":["post-2602406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2005-visit","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-lutnick","tag-massages","tag-sexual-remark"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/042326_WEX_HOWARD_LUTNICK-21-e1776965293320.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602406"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602410,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602406\/revisions\/2602410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}