Trump says he was ‘unaware’ of Lutnick family’s Epstein Island trip

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump said he had no knowledge of a reported family trip by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to the private Caribbean island once owned by convicted s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump was asked whether he was aware of the visit and if he still had confidence in Lutnick amid growing bipartisan calls for the cabinet official’s resignation.

Trump says he has not discussed Epstein Island visit with Howard Lutnick

Trump said he had no prior knowledge of Lutnick’s reported trip and quickly reiterated that he himself had never visited Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James.

“No, I wasn’t aware of it, no,” Trump said. “I actually haven’t spoken to him about it, but from what I hear he was there with his wife and children, and I guess in some cases some other people were.”

Trump again denied having any personal relationship with Epstein, who was once a social acquaintance.

“I wasn’t. I was never there,” Trump said. “Somebody will someday say that. I was never there.”

The comments come after the Department of Justice released files referencing a 2012 visit to the island, intensifying scrutiny of Lutnick’s past interactions with Epstein.

Lutnick has previously maintained that he and his wife agreed in 2005 to cut off contact with Epstein following an uncomfortable visit to the financier’s home, where Epstein allegedly bragged about receiving daily massages.

“So I was never with him socially, for business or even philanthropy,” Lutnick said on an October podcast. “If that guy was there, I wasn’t going because he’s gross.”

Karoline Leavitt rejects calls for Howard Lutnick to resign

Karoline Leavitt brushed aside calls for Lutnick to step down, describing him as an “important” member of Trump’s team who continues to have the president’s full support.

“Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team and the president fully supports the secretary,” Leavitt said on February 10.

During testimony on Capitol Hill, Lutnick told lawmakers that the 2012 visit occurred while he was traveling with his family and that he witnessed no criminal activity.

“My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,” he said. He added that another couple and their children joined them for lunch on the island.

Lutnick said the stop lasted about an hour before the group departed together.

“And we had lunch on the island. That is true, for an hour, and we left with all of my children, with my nannies, and my wife, all together,” he said.

When asked why they went to the island, Lutnick said he could not recall the circumstances.

“I don’t recall why we did it,” he said.