(Ken Silva, Headline USA) FBI Director Kashyap Patel has repeatedly insisted that there’s no evidence of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein sexually blackmailing anyone—but a top Trump official who was neighbors with Epstein says otherwise.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was neighbors with Epstein for years in Manhattan for years, told New York Post reporter Miranda Devine that he believes Epstein used videos of other powerful men receiving sexual favors to secure his sweetheart plea deal with the Justice Department in 2008. Lutnick was referring to Epstein’s massage room, which was wired with cameras.
“I assume way back when they traded those videos in exchange for him getting that 18-month sentence, which allowed him to have visits and be out of jail. I mean, he’s a serial sex offender. 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,” he reportedly said on Devine’s podcast, Pod Force One.
“So, my assumption, I have no knowledge, but my assumption is there was a trade for the videos, because there were people on those videos.”
Lutnick named billionaire Bill Gates and Prince Andrew as likely recipients of sexual massages. Gates strongly denied the allegation.
“This is absolutely false. Gates met with Epstein to discuss philanthropy and nothing else,” a Gates spokesperson told the Post.
Lutnick’s comments come off the heels of the House Oversight Committee releasing documents about Epstein paying someone for massages—possibly for Prince Andrew. Epstein’s heavily redacted ledger shows that he cut a $200 check in February 2000 for a “massage for Andrew.” Another $200 check was cut in May of that year for the same reason. The rest of the ledger is redacted.
Probably the most interesting records from this limited dump come from Epstein's ledger, which lists 2 $200 checks for someone to "massage Andrew."
The DOJ says Epstein didn't traffic girls to anyone else, but this seems to be evidence to the contrary. https://t.co/bogAu2X1nJ pic.twitter.com/VIHE1DetXa— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) September 26, 2025
Multiple teenagers have said Epstein paid them for massages that often included sexual activities.
Epstein was reportedly found dead in his prison cell in August 2019—allegedly of suicide. His accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of conspiring with Epstein in 2021.
The Oversight Committee says it’s received over 8,000 records from the Epstein estate so far.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
