Howard Lutnick is a man the world has been sold as a survivor, a Wall Street titan who rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald investment bank from the ashes of September 11, a billionaire philanthropist, and, most recently, joined at the hip with President Donald Trump, as his Commerce Secretary. His public biography reads like a meticulously crafted narrative of resilience, morality, and calculated success. But a deeper look into the released Epstein files and FBI documents tells a far more troubling story, one that cannot be contained in the usual heavily curated press releases or tidy interviews.

For years, Lutnick has insisted he ‘severed all ties’ with notorious sex trafficker and Israel-linked intelligence operative Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 – we’re told after a brief, disturbing acquaintance, where he portrayed the disgraced financier as a “gross” figure he never wanted to see again. And yet, recently released emails tell a totally different story. Uncovered in the latest Department of Justice’s release show how Lutnick was planning a family visit to Epstein’s private pleasure island, Little Saint James in 2012, seven years after he claimed to have cut ties. His wife Allison’s messages confirm the trip, detailing the ages of their children and expressing excitement about the gathering. Epstein’s reply—“Nice to see you”—suggests the meeting went forward as planned (EFTA01050718). This troubling discrepancy will likely cast more doubts over other statements and claims made by what many call “Trump’s handler” in the White House.

The island visit is not an isolated aberration. Emails reveal Lutnick inviting Epstein to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in 2015, corresponding with him on Wall Street charity events in 2017 (EFTA02568733), and continuing exchanges about property and social gatherings well into the late 2010s. An FD-302 FBI summary even cites witness testimony linking Lutnick to Epstein’s financial networks and questioning how he amassed his wealth, while acknowledging the townhouse Epstein sold him before it skyrocketed in value.

The web surrounding Epstein is never limited to one man, and neither are the Lutnicks. Howard’s sister, Edie Lutnick, was a founding citizen of Ghislaine Maxwell’s TerraMar Project, the oceanic charity Maxwell ran as Epstein’s lieutenant and which became a hub of influence and ultimately, one of many PR facades to obfuscate the criminal conviction for sex trafficking. The Lutnick family is thus implicated not as bystanders but as participants in Epstein’s orbit of elite social, political, and philanthropic networks, stretching from Manhattan townhouses to Caribbean islands, from private school fundraisers to international charities.

Read More: The Lutnick Deception: The Island Email That Won’t Go Away