Little Isle, Big Lie: Man “disgusted” by Epstein Went to His Island Years Later
Howard Lutnick, now serving as President Trump’s Commerce Secretary, has publicly and emphatically denied any meaningful relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after 2005. In a recent interview with Miranda Devine, Lutnick said he was “disgusted” by Epstein’s behavior, claimed he severed all ties that year, and insisted he would never again be in the same room as what he called a “disgusting” human being.
Veteran investigative journalist and Epstein Expert Nick Bryant is an expert on Epstein whose name appears in Epstein emails because of how problematic he was for the sex trafficker. He is also the author of The Franklin Scandal: a Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal Bryant has referred to the Franklin Scandal as a “Carbon Copy” of the Epstein scandal.
Commerce Secretary Lutnick has Problem
The problem with Lutnick’s assertion on the podcast with Divine is that it’s at odds with his sworn testimony.
Newly resurfaced travel records and reporting indicate that Lutnick visited Epstein’s private island in 2012, years after Epstein’s alleged crimes were widely known and four years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction—a conviction that conspicuously avoided federal pedophilia charges and resulted in what many experts still describe as a slap on the wrist. Even more troubling: the visit reportedly included children.
This raises a question that has gone largely unasked by mainstream media: How does a man who claims he would never again share a room with Epstein end up on Epstein’s island seven years later?
This is not guilt by association. This is a direct contradiction between sworn public statements and documented actions. If Lutnick truly cut off Epstein in 2005, why was he present on Little St. James in 2012—long after Epstein’s reputation was globally infamous, long after civil lawsuits, and long after law enforcement scrutiny had intensified?
Nick Bryant is uniquely positioned to examine this gap. His reporting has long focused on elite impunity, sealed records, and the way powerful figures navigate around scandal through selective memory and media silence. Lutnick’s case fits that pattern precisely: a powerful financier, now a cabinet official, whose public narrative collapses under basic chronological scrutiny.
This pitch isn’t about sensationalism. It’s about accountability. The Epstein scandal was not sustained by secrecy alone—it was sustained by deference, silence, and a media class unwilling to press obvious inconsistencies when the subject wears the right suit or holds the right office.
If a sitting Commerce Secretary can dismiss Epstein as “disgusting” while quietly appearing at his island years later, the public deserves to know why—and how often this pattern repeats among those who claim moral distance while maintaining private proximity.
The Epstein story is not over. It has simply moved into higher office.
Nick Bryant should be the one to pull that thread.
Visit Epstein Justice Home – Epstein Justice
Relevant Article(s):
Trump Commerce Sec. Lutnick admits visiting Epstein island during family vacation
Lutnick confirms Jeffrey Epstein lunch as scrutiny intensifies – POLITICO
The Epstein Emails: From the Very Strange to the Very, Very Evil
Click here to see Kurt Metzger encourage Joe Rogan to have Nick Bryant on his show: https://youtu.be/LIhkYiYLON0?si=UokiQyqW5IQ32lic&t=5477
Optional Q&A:
- How do you assess Howard Lutnick’s claim that he severed all ties with Jeffrey Epstein in 2005 in light of records placing him on Little St. James in 2012?
- What does it tell you, as an Epstein investigator, when a public figure’s sworn statements directly contradict documented travel and timeline evidence?
- How common was it, in your reporting, for Epstein associates to publicly denounce him while privately maintaining access years after his 2008 conviction?
- If Lutnick truly found Epstein “disgusting,” how should the public interpret a visit to Epstein’s island that reportedly included children?
- Does this pattern mirror what you’ve called the “carbon copy” structure of the Franklin Scandal — elite denial paired with provable proximity?
- Why do you think mainstream media has largely avoided confronting this specific contradiction involving a sitting Commerce Secretary?
- In your experience, how do sealed records, selective memory, and media deference allow powerful figures to survive Epstein-related scrutiny?
- What does the Lutnick case suggest about how the Epstein scandal didn’t end, but instead migrated into higher levels of political and financial power?
ABOUT NICK BRYANT…
Nick Bryant is an investigative journalist and director of www.EpsteinJustice.com He spent seven years investigating a child sex trafficking network that was covered up by state and federal authorities, culminating in The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse, and Betrayal. The trafficking network I wrote about in The Franklin Scandal has been the focal point of considerable misinformation and/or disinformation on the Internet. Individuals who, perhaps, suffer from psychiatric disorders have woven the Illuminati and shape shifting reptilian ETs into the narrative.
But the book’s foremost transgressor has been Wikipedia. The “Franklin child prostitution ring allegations” Wikipedia page has been under siege by unscrupulous Wikipedia “editors,” and they’ve intentionally made it nonsensical.
The Franklin Scandal and the Epstein scandal are quite similar in the sense that both child trafficking networks were covered up by state and federal authorities and the mainstream media has been complicit, because it never demanded justice for the children whose lives had been disfigured. I started investigating the Epstein network in 2012, when I acquired his “Little Black Book”—seven years before the case broke nationally. I pitched an article on the Little Black Book for three years to mainstream media outlets, but, like The Franklin Scandal, my pitches were met with unbridled skepticism and incredulity.
In 2015, finally, Gawker published the Little Black Book and accompanying articles. I found it ironic that Gawker, considered to be the mean kids in the media, had the fortitude to publish a story about children whose lives have been disfigured with impunity, whereas media outlets ostensibly immersed in integrity had rejected the story.
His latest book, The Truth About Watergate: A Tale of Extraordinary Lies and Liars, details the false narrative that our history books have imparted about the infamous Watergate affair.
ABOUT PETER SHINN…
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Pete Shinn is the Associate Director of www.EpsteinJustice.com and has an extensive background in the U.S. Air Force as a trainer, journalist, and adult educator. He also served as an executive officer for the Continental NORAD Region Air Operations Center, and as a liaison between the Secretary of the Air Force and U.S. Senate Appropriators.
Beginning in 1989, Shinn began providing interactive diversity and inclusion training to Air Force audiences. In 2008, Shinn was selected to provide leadership, communications, problem solving, and critical thinking skills training at the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School. In 2010, he deployed with the Iowa National Guard to provide agricultural training to farmers in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province.
After returning from Afghanistan, he provided interactive training on the intersection between agriculture and national defense to a variety of organizations, including the National Agri-Marketing Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Pork Board, and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, among others. Pete retired from the Air Force in October 2020 after 36 years of service. He is currently a co-creator at Shinnfluence LLC, a family media and training business.
Pete’s major military awards include the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the U.S. Army Combat Action Badge. His major civilian awards include the 1998 Nebraska Broadcaster’s Association Gold Service to Agriculture Award, the National Association of Farm Broadcasting President’s Award in 2004 and 2005, and an Emmy Award in 2012 for Best Military Program.
To Schedule an interview with Nick, send an email to Bookings@SpecialGuests.com or call 512-966-0983
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