Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has alleged that the late Jeffrey Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever” and may have provided federal authorities with compromising videos of powerful associates as part of his 2008 plea deal.
As reported by The New York Post, Lutnick spoke about a personal encounter with Epstein in 2005, saying the disgraced financier gave him and his wife a tour of his infamous East 71st Street townhouse, including the notorious “massage room.”
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The allegations suggest Epstein may have leveraged illicit material involving wealthy and influential individuals to secure leniency from prosecutors, reviving long-standing questions about the controversial plea agreement that allowed him to avoid federal charges for sex trafficking.
What did Epstein say to Lutnick?
“I say to him, ‘Massage table in the middle of your house? How often do you have a massage?” Lutnick recalled. “And he says, ‘Every day.’ And then he gets, like, weirdly close to me, and he says, ‘And the right kind of massage,” as reported by The New York Post.
Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier with deep connections to global elites, was convicted of sex offences and died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking underage girls.
His death was officially ruled a suicide by the Trump administration, though it has continued to spark widespread scepticism and conspiracy theories.
Trump has faced ongoing scrutiny over his past relationship with Epstein.
He gets, like, weirdly close to me, and he says, ‘And the right kind of massage.’
Epstein, who was convicted of sex offences, was found dead in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking underage girls. His death, officially ruled a suicide, abruptly ended a case that had drawn intense scrutiny due to Epstein’s ties to powerful figures across politics, business, and royalty.
The Justice Department in early July said it would not make public files from its sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, reneging on earlier promises from Trump and his allies to do so.
Epstein was ‘the greatest blackmailer ever’.