Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Congressional Investigators Question Howard Lutnick Over Epstein Relationship (5/7/26)

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Congressional Investigators Question Howard Lutnick Over Epstein Relationship (5/7/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the
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Epstein Chronicles. Howard Lutnik had his day in front of
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Congress yesterday, and of course both sides have competing narratives
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about what went down at the hearing. Now, of course,
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we don't know yet, and all we have are bits
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and pieces that have been disseminated to us by either side.
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So until we have the transcript and we can take
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a look at it, my advice would be to take
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everything that you hear with a grain of salt because
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we just don't know. And both sides obviously want to
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have a narrative spun and want to use these depositions
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and the whole Epstein issue as a political cudgel. So
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I'm very cautious when it comes to listening to what
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these people have to say without any evidence to back
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it up. So with that said, why don't we dive
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into this article from NBC News and see what they
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have to say about good old Howie Lutnick and his
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deposition headline Howard Lutnik evasive during Epstein testimony. House Democrats say,
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and then of course the Republicans say that he was
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one hundred percent truthful. So which is it? This article
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was authored by Eric Ortiz and Ryan Nobles. Over the years,
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the households of New York financier Jeffrey Epstein and billionaire
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businessman Howard Lutnak, now the US Commerce Secretary, overlapped in
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seemingly conventional ways. Liked the need for a good painter.
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Another time, Epstein received the resume for Lutnik's nanny. Oh,
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the one that he took off the island with him. Weird.
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That whole entire conversation was weird. Yeah, my wife left
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with me, My nanny's left, My kids left. No shit, dude,
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did they come with you? Why would they not be
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leaving with you? Furthermore, why were you there? They were,
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after all, nextdoor neighbors for more than a decade in
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an elite Upper East Side enclave of Manhattan. Fell travelers
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and all right, But their lives also intersected in far
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more influential or personal ways, such as when in twenty
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twelve Lutnick, his wife and there were four young children
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sailed on a yacht to have lunch with Epstein on
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his private Caribbean island, or seven months later went an
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aid to then Prince Andrew wanted Epstein's opinion about Lutnick.
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Then the CEO of the Wall Street brokerage, an investment bank,
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Canter Fitzgerald, And that's when I was working for Cannor
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back then. It's crazy to think about. Look, I had
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no idea who this guy even was, Howard Lutnick. All
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I knew is that Canter Fitzgerald opened up a gaming
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division in Las Vegas and they were paying good ass money.
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So when I transferred into that department, I had no
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idea the kind of operation that Canter Fitzgerald planned on running.
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But it was quite obvious very soon that things were
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not on the up and up, and of course that
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led to the Jersey Boy scandal that absolutely blew up
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Cannor gaming here in Las Vegas. But legit, the operation
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was run like Wolfel Wall Street almost. It was absolutely absurd.
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I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Honestly, what's your
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view on Howard Lutnik? Just met him with? PA, wrote
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the Aid, referring to Andrew, who was angling to do
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business with Canterer Fitzgerald. My neighbor's smart, Epstein replied, Yeah,
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not smart enough, not smart enough to come up with
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the narrative that people actually believe. Huh. The extent of
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Lutnik's personal association with Epstein, who died by suicide allegedly
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in a New York City jail in twenty nineteen while
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he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was
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the focus of a Capitol Hill inquiry on Wednesday, following
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the closed door testimony before the House Oversight and Government
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Reform Committee, which is investigating the federal government's handling of
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the case against Epstein. Democratic committee members said they repeatedly
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asked Luttnik for details about the island visit and why
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you went. He's just gonna run the same game. I
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don't really know. I got an invite and I decided
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to pop in. We were in the neighborhood. I was
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there for an hour. We asked him over and over again,
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why did you go to the island representatives, Sujas submaranium
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pull reporters. He says he doesn't remember. That it's inexplicable,
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and he simply didn't know how to answer the question,
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Like how don't you know how to answer the question?
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That wasn't something you fell into. You didn't wake up
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on the yacht and drift to Little Saint James. Somebody
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punched those coordinates in. Somebody made the decision to go there.
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So why did you go? What was the motivation to
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hang out with your buddy talk business? What was it?
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Representative Rocana said Lutnick was largely evasive in his testimony
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and did not appear credible or show regret for having
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maintained contact with Epstein after he claimed he stopped communications
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with him. If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript,
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he would have fired Howard Lutnick. Conna said, it was
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really embarrassing. I have my doubts about that. In fact,
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I'm sure Lutnik was just marching to the beat that
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was being played by Donald Trump. We've seen the same
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thing over and over. Anytime one of these officials gets
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on the dock, they just get evasive. They talk a
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bunch of nonsense, and then they start talking about all
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of the quote unquote achievements of the administration, and rinse
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and repeat over and over again. The Commerce Department in
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the White House Press Office did not immediately respond to
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a request for comment about the testimony. Lutnik has denied
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any wrongdoing. He has not been accused of any impropriety
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tied to Epstein. No, it's about the lies again, it's
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the cover up. Stupid. How many times do we got
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to talk about it? All? These people out here lying
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about their relationship with Epstein when it's provable that they're lying,
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are just making their lives harder. Here's an idea, And
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I know it's very difficult for those in the so
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called elite class to hear, but why don't you just
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be honest, just tell the truth. The relationship between Lutnik
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and Epstein span years, both before and after Epstein was
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convicted in two thousand and eight for soliciting a minor
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for prostitution in Florida. Their email communications, which were sporadic,
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or in the millions of pages of Epstein investigation documents
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the Justice Department released this year, Look, they were tight. Okay,
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definitely tight, without a doubt. Now, with that said, there's
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no indication that mister Lutnik was involved in any of
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Jeffrey Epstein's nonsense as far as the abuse. But for
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Howard Lutnik to get up there and lie to the
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American people, that's a problem onto itself. And there was
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a time when an elected official would have the morality
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and have the decency to step down if they got
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up on TV and started lying to the American people.
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But those days are long past. Just take a look
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at the people that are invading politics, look at the
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scum baggery that we see. The file show Lutnik reaching
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out to Epstein as early as two thousand and nine
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and contacting him as late as twenty eighteen. Their interactions
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were not robust, but they remained in touch, including through
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phone calls and charity gallas. Of course they did. And look,
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nobody's saying they were thick as thieves. At least I'm not.
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But they were certainly friendly and that relationship went a
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lot deeper. Then mister Lutnick wants to talk about and
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again that's the problem for Lutnik, he lied. Before Wednesday's hearing,
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Lutnick had offered shifting accounts about their relationship, initially saying
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in recent years that he had no association with Epstein.
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Lutnick said he cut ties in two thousand and five
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because he believed Epstein was a disgusting person. Then, after
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the Justice Department files were released, he acknowledged visiting Epstein's island. Lies,
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Lies and more lies, can't believe a word you say.
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Once you prove yourself to be a liar, I don't
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want to hear anything else from you. That shit. Lutnik
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voluntarily agreed to appear before the Bipartisan House Oversight Committee,
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said Representative James Comer, the committee's chairman. Comer told reporters
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that he believed Lutnick had been very transparent in his
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testimony and that Democrats repeated the exact same question because
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there's only so many questions you can ask Howard Lutnick
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who lived had a property next door to Epstein in
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New York, but talked to him three times over a decade,
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James Comer, why are you lying so much? Seriously? And
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I know that he feels comfortable and safe because he's
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in Kentucky, ensconced in a you know, a deeply read area.
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But at some point people are going to be like,
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you know, what, what have you actually done for us?
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James Comer? And once Trump is gone, all of these
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loyalists they're in big trouble. I don't see how they
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continue to stay in politics when they can't ride on
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Trump's hotels anymore. So it's going to be real interesting
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to see in twenty eight when the party finally ends,
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how things shake out, Because if you think people are
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gonna forget your behavior and how you conducted yourself, you
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got another thing coming. A source familiar with Lutnik's testimony
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said he described our first meeting in two thousand and five,
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when he moved in next door and he and his
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wife met Epstein in his home for coffee, a second
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meeting as a guest with his family to Epstein's island
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in twenty twelve, and a third meeting to discuss scaffolding
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in Epstein's foyer, an interaction that had not been previously detailed.
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The date of the third meeting was unclear. Lutnick said
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he never saw Epstein with any young women and never
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witnessed anything inappropriate. No, you never saw any of those
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women in the house, never saw any of the tropes
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of young girls being led there by mc squared, never
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heard anything weird, okay, I guess. Lutnik, who left Canter
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Fitzgerald last year after President Donald Trump named them Commerce secretary,
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is among at least half a dozen top officials in
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the Trump administration, including Trump himself, whose names appear in
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the files ah The Good Old Epstein administration. Trump, who
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has not been accused of any crime in connection with
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Epstein and denies any wrongdoing, has acknowledged being friendly with
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them before they had a falling out about two decades ago,
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years before Epstein became a convicted sex offender. And which
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choose your own ending or are we going to use
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here for Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's relationship, because it's
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obviously a hardy boys novel. You get to choose your
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own ending, right. Some Congressional Democrats have accused Lutnick of
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lying and called on them to resign or be fired.
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They echoed the demand Wednesday, following his testimony. His appearance
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in the files has also prompted students at Haverford College,
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Lutnick's alma mater in Pennsylvania, to demand that his name
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be stripped from the private Liberal arts schools library. Well.
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I don't know if they'll be successful, but good luck,
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because even without the Epstein stuff, I think Lutnik is corrupt,
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and I say that from working for his company. Lutnik
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told Axios in March, I've done nothing wrong and I
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want to set the record straight. A Commerce Department spokesperson
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said in a statement Tuesday that Lutnik was putting to
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rest the inaccurate and baseless claims in the media designed
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to distract from his historic work underway at the Commerce Department.
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You mean, like refunding all of the tariffs really historic,
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so I get to pay for that shit twice, is
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what you're telling me. Cool historic job from the most
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transparent administration in the history of transparency. A White House
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spokesperson defended Lutnik this year, saying President Trump has assembled
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the best and most transformative cabinet in modern history. You'll
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imagine saying that with a straight face, the most transformative
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cabinet in modern history, okay. Matt Dalik, a historian and
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political management professor at George Washington University, said Lutnick would
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most certainly face questions over his credibility. It's risky business
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for him to go to before Congress and testify about Epstein,
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Dalak said, because lo and behold, he visited the island
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with his kids. Trump, he added, will want to know
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how Lutnick performed. If Lutnick comes off as wishy, washy
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or ineffective, Trump could sour on him, Dalak said, especially
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if he wants a fall guy. For the economy. Well,
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I'd say that that's probably a likely outcome. We know
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Trump's not going to go down for it. He's gonna
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blame one of his subordinates like he always does. And
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Lutnick sure fits the bill, doesn't he. Lutnick has repeatedly
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denied mingling with Epstein. In a twenty twenty four profile,
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lutnik spokesperson told Forbes magazine that he had never had
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any association with mister Epstein, and in a podcast interview
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in October, Lutnik described visiting Epstein's townhouse with his wife
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Allison in two thousand and five and seeing a massage
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table in the middle of a room filled with candles.
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Lutnik said Epstein told him he received massages every day
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and got weirdly close to say the right kind of massage.
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That all sounded made up. Anyway, I don't believe that
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interaction happened. Sorry, don't believe it, not for a minute.
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In fact, I bet you Lutnik was, you know, ribbon
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with him. Oh, well, that's pretty cool. Maybe if I
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can get away from the life one night, I'll come over.
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That's probably more how the conversation went in the six
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to eight steps to get from his house to my house.
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Lutnik said, my wife and I decided that I will
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never be in the room with that disgusting person. Ever. Again,
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I was never in the room with them socially, for
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business or even philanthropy. He added, if that guy was there,
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I wasn't going because he's gross. Well, that turned out
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to be a lie, and what you think it was
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the only one. He also said in the podcast interview
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that Epstein was the greatest blackmailer ever. House Democrats have
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said they want to know why Lutnik believed that, especially
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after the Justice Department wrote in a memo in July
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that there was no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed
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prominent individuals. Conna told reporters Wednesday that Lutnick was asked
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about the black mail comment during its testimony. Lutnik clarified
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that he was just speculating and Epstein actually didn't engage
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in blackmail. Conna said, well, gotta toe the party line, right,
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Gotta do what Daddy Donald says. You don't want to
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get spanked, do you, Well, then again, maybe he does
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these weirdos. Conna said that he was skeptical of the
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flip flop. That raises the question of what the cover
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up is. Conna said, did someone tell him to say that?
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Good question. I'd like to know that too. The files
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outline Lutnick's occasional email contact with Epstein over nearly a decade.
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Emails appear in two thousand and nine, the year of
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Epstein's conviction, Epstein received a message saying Lutnick would like
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to speak to you. Two years later, there were arranging
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phone calls. One evening, Epstein's schedule Lutnake for drinks before
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dinner with director Woody Allen and fashion designer Vera Wang. Well,
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according to his emails, the next day, Epstein suggested in
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an email that Lutnake forgot his phone. Well, well, well,
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what do you know. I'm sure that didn't happen though, right,
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just another bunch of bs. In December of twenty twelve,
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Epstein was scheduled to attend a breast cancer charity dinner
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at a large hotel ballroom, for which the Lutnicks were
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among the co chairs, and two days before Christmas, the
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Lutnix and their children, along with another family with young kids,
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planned to visit Epstein's home in the US Virgin Islands.
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The email show what father brings their kids to a
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sex offenders island like real talk, It is unconscionable. Why
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would you bring your kids around somebody like this, unless,
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of course you just don't care. The day after the visit,
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epstein assistant wrote to Lutnik, Jeffrey wished me to pass
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along the blow to you. Nice seeing you. Asked about
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the island visit at a Senate Appropriation Subcommittee hearing in February,
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Lutnick said that there was nothing untoward about the interaction,
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but that he did not recall why his family agreed
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to go. How dumb is that? And does anyone really
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believe that you just decided, hey, let's go see Epstein,
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and everybody was like, okay, cool, let's go see Uncle Diddles.
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The files also show mutual financial interests. A few days
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after the visit, both men were among the signers on
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a stock purchase agreement in Adfin, a digital advertising technology company.
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I'm sure they didn't discuss that, right, I'm sure their
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finances weren't intertwined. And if you're wondering why Epstein was
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never hit with RICO, you're looking at the reason the
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next year, the possible deal between the then Prince Andrew
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and Kenner Fitzgerald began. Andrew's aide, David Stern, wanted Epstein's advice.
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Epstein called Lutnick smart, but he warned Stern and Andrew
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that he'll end up in the news because of his
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involvement with Lutnick, who had at the time a sports
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book and gambling technology company subject to audits and financial disclosures.
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Don't do it, Epstein wrote, warning in another email that
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Andrew will have holy hell to pay because of Lutnick's
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gaming affiliation. Well, that's true. The gaming commission in Vegas
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is very stringent and they're going to dive into your
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files for sure. The following month, Epstein advised Stern about
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what the terms of an agreement between Andrew and Canter
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Fitzgerald should look like, according to the emails, but when
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Stern asked Epstein two months later whether he had seen
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the proposal, Epstein replied, in one word, goofy. It's unclear
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of what ultimately came of it, but Canter Fitzgerald's spokesman
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said in a statement that the firm has never had
17:56
any business dealings with Andrew. Mount Batton Windsor. Last year,
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King Charles removed Andrew's royal titles amid a growing scandal
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over his known ties to Epstein. In the following years,
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Epstein received three invitations to events involving Lutnick. Of course
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he did. Of course he did, because they were a
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lot closer than he ever let on, and he lied
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about it, and now he's caught. In the following years,
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Epstein received three invitations to events involving Lutnick. In late
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twenty seventeen, Epstein donated fifty thousand to a Jewish philanthropic
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organization that was hosting a Wall Street benefit dinner honoring Lutnick.
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The email show Epstein did not attend, but he wrote,
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tell Lutnick he can fill the table. So they wanted
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his money. They just didn't want the stink of him. Right, Well,
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you can't come, but we'll take your dough. Their last
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email communication appears to be from the spring of twenty
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eighteen over what was a pressing issue in their neighborhood.
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Are you aware to them building to block our park views?
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What should we do about it? Time is of the essence,
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Lutnik wrote, and a message sent to Epstein's assistant. The
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nearby Frick Collection Art Museum was gearing up for an expansion,
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threatening their coveted views of Central Park. Lutnik urged Epstein
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to write a letter to the city. You know. Later email,
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Epstein changed the subject another note, what do you think
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the prospects for Adfinn are? He was referring to the
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tech company whose stock they purchased in twenty twelve. Lutnik responded,
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producing revenue. Finally, this is their year, next twelve months.
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They need to become economically self sufficient. Adfinn would shudder.
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In October twenty nineteen, three months after Epstein's second arrest
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and his death in jail. Well to cover the tracks, right,
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The partners didn't want it to be known that Epstein
19:49
was involved, so they covered their tracks. Now, as far
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as Lutnik goes again, I'm not saying he was involved
19:56
in any kind of abuse or anything like that. There's
19:58
no evidence of that. But what I am saying is
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that he lied about his relationship with Epstein, And even
20:05
after this congressional hearing, I still think he's lying. But
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we have to get a look at the transcripts, right,
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We have to take a look for ourselves. And see
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what's really there and what's not. And once those bad
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boys become available, we'll get them added to the catalog.
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All the information that goes with this episode can be
20:23
found in the description box