Oct 1, 2025 - Business

Lutnick calls ex-neighbor Epstein "greatest blackmailer ever"

Rebecca Falconer

A bald, bearded Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, wearing a black jacket, white shirt and black and white checked tie, gestures with his right hand as he speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in June. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called Jeffrey Epstein, his former neighbor, the "greatest blackmailer ever" during a new interview.

Why it matters: The top Trump secretary's comments contrast with the Justice Department's and FBI's July findings that there's "no credible evidence" that the sex offender blackmailed prominent individuals or kept a "client list."

FBI Director Kash Patel testified last month said there's "no credible information" that Epstein trafficked young women to other individuals beside himself.

Driving the news: Lutnick recalled during the "Pod Force One" interview that posted to YouTube Tuesday that he and his wife immediately left and vowed to "never" be in the same room as Epstein again after visiting his home and seeing a massage table, with the sex offender allegedly telling him he received "the right kind of massage" daily.

Wealthy people receiving massages was Epstein's "MO" and "what happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video," Lutnick told podcast host Miranda Devine.

Zoom in: "This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever, blackmailed people. That's how he had money," he said.

"How could he get 18 months and be able to go to his office during the day and have visitors and stuff? There must have been a trade," Lutnick speculated in reference to Epstein's sentence after his 2008 sweetheart plea deal in Florida.

Representatives for the Department of Justice and FBI did not immediately respond to Axios' Wednesday evening request for comment on whether it would open an investigation following Lutnick's remarks.

More from Axios:

Add Axios on Google

Lutnick calls ex-neighbor Epstein "greatest blackmailer ever"

What to read next