Lutnick: Epstein was the 'greatest blackmailer ever'

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein the “greatest blackmailer ever” in an interview published Tuesday.

Lutnick told "Pod Force One" host Miranda Devine that Epstein was a “disgusting person” from whom he and his wife kept their distance.

The Commerce secretary, who was Epstein’s ex-neighbor, described to Devine his interaction with the financier during a tour of Epstein's home. Lutnick said the space was centered around a massage table surrounded with candles.

“I say to him, ‘Massage table in the middle of your house? How often do you have a massage?’ And he says, ‘Every day,’” Lutnick told Devine.

“And then he like gets like weirdly close to me, and he says, ‘And the right kind of massage,” he added. 

Lutnick said he and his wife immediately left, and he “decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”

The secretary said the wealthy were welcomed into Epstein’s space to “get a massage” and some frequently took him up on the offer. 

“They get a massage, that’s what his MO was. ‘Get a massage, get a massage,’ and what happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video,” Lutnick said. 

“This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever, blackmailed people. That’s how he had money,” he added.

President Trump, Elon Musk, Prince Andrew and others have had their ethics questioned over close ties to Epstein, who was convicted of sex crimes. Members of Congress have been pushing for transparency among elected officials who were associated with the deceased convict. 

Last month, the House Oversight Committee released pages from a “birthday book” gifted to the late financier with celebratory letters from the rich and powerful. 

Trump reportedly wrote a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday celebration written in the silhouette of a naked woman, according to the Wall Street Journal. House Democrats released the drawing purportedly from Trump.

One of the lines in the correspondence read, “may every day be another wonderful secret.”

The president has denied writing and signing the letter in addition to any wrongdoing tied to his association with Epstein. However, the card has cast doubt on his claims of innocence for some voters who pushed for his second term on the campaign trail.

Last month, the president told reporters his letter to Epstein was a “dead issue.”