Trump Backed Lutnick When Epstein Files First Dropped – Then Came the Island Photo

The Epstein files were supposed to be Trump's moment of total transparency.

Instead, they just handed Congress a photograph that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick swore didn't exist – and the Department of Justice quietly tried to make it disappear before anyone noticed.

They noticed. And now Lutnick is headed to Capitol Hill to explain what exactly he was doing on a convicted pedophile's private island while telling the American people he barely knew the man.

Howard Lutnick Epstein Photo Was Deleted From DOJ Files – Then Restored

The image showed up in the DOJ's official Epstein files database in late January: five fully clothed men on a cliffside overlooking the ocean on Little St. James, the Caribbean island where Epstein's worst crimes took place.

One of the men, wearing a bright blue button-down shirt, appears to be Howard Lutnick.

Then the page went dark.

The DOJ claimed the photo had been pulled because it was flagged for nudity – every man in the picture is wearing a shirt and shorts.

The cover story collapsed within hours because a group of tech workers running a site called "jmail" had already archived it. The DOJ quietly restored the photo Thursday night after CBS News authenticated and published it.

Rep. Nancy Mace didn't waste any time. She posted directly to the House Oversight Committee: "Howard Lutnick should take questions from the Oversight committee." Chairman James Comer said it's "very possible" the Commerce Secretary will be called. Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, put it bluntly: "I'm sure there's a good reason for this. DOJ needs to tell Congress who pulled this file down so we can ask them."

https://x.com/RepNancyMace/status/2027354498201509958“>https://x.com/RepNancyMace/status/2027354498201509958

President Trump told reporters Friday that Lutnick will testify. "Howard would go in and say whatever he has to say," Trump said. "He's a very innocent guy, he's doing a good job."

Lutnick Said He Cut Ties in 2005 – The Epstein Files Tell a Different Story

Here's what Lutnick told New York Post podcaster Miranda Devine last October: he met Epstein once in 2005 when they became neighbors on the Upper East Side, decided the man was "gross" and "disgusting," and never spent another moment with him.

That story held for about two months.

The Epstein files showed something else entirely. Lutnick and Epstein were exchanging emails and arranging calls for years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. In December 2012 – four years after Epstein's conviction – Lutnick brought his wife, four children, and their nannies to Little St. James for lunch. Days later, both men signed contracts investing in a digital advertising company called Adfin – and documents show Epstein was still asking Lutnick about its prospects as late as 2018. In 2015, Lutnick invited Epstein to a Hillary Clinton fundraiser. In 2017, Epstein donated $50,000 to a dinner held in Lutnick's honor.

Lutnick testified before the Senate on February 10 and described the whole thing as "maybe 10 emails over 14 years." Senator Chris Van Hollen wasn't buying it. "It's the fact that you misled the country and the Congress based on your earlier statements suggesting that you cut off all contact, when in fact you had not," Van Hollen told him directly.

Lutnick's response: "I have nothing to hide – absolutely nothing."

https://x.com/OurShallowState/status/2027165660074446981“>https://x.com/OurShallowState/status/2027165660074446981

Megyn Kelly and Congress Are Now Demanding Lutnick Testify on Epstein

Megyn Kelly – who called Lutnick's original story a "bold-faced lie" – put it in terms every conservative understands.

She said: "This is supposed to be a more transparent administration, and what President Trump doesn't need is a liar in the position of commerce secretary."

Kelly's sharpest line was about what Lutnick did to Miranda Devine. "He humiliated her, lied right to her face, and he had to have known at some level this was going to come out, and he owes her an apology, and he owes the rest of us an apology for lying to our faces."

Rep. Thomas Massie went further, telling CNN Lutnick should simply resign – "to make life easier on the president."

Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana suggested at a hearing that the FBI should sit down with Lutnick to ask him about everything he claimed to know about Epstein's blackmail operation. There's no indication that's happened.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai called Lutnick "the most transformative commerce secretary in modern history" and insisted Trump has full confidence in him. That's the official line. But the photo is authenticated, the documents are public, and Congress – from both sides of the aisle – now wants answers under oath.

Lutnick looked his Americans in the eye and said he had nothing to hide.

He's about to say it again. This time, to the House.

---

Sources:

• Daniel Ruetenik et al., "Photo of Lutnick on Epstein's Island Removed From Justice Department Files, Now Restored," CBS News, February 27, 2026.
• Alex Griffing, "House Republican Calls For Howard Lutnick to be Questioned On Epstein By Congress," Mediaite, February 27, 2026.
• Alex Griffing, "James Comer Reveals It's 'Very Possible' GOP Will Depose Howard Lutnick Over Epstein," Mediaite, February 26, 2026.
• Alex Griffing, "Megyn Kelly Shreds Trump Commerce Secretary for 'Lying to Our Faces' About Epstein," Mediaite, February 19, 2026.
• CNBC Staff, "Trump Commerce Sec. Lutnick Admits Visiting Epstein Island During Family Vacation," CNBC, February 10, 2026.