US commerce secretary Lutnick details 'off-putting' Epstein encounter; Waitt testimony on Maxwell ties released

A news article covering the panel's release of transcripts and Lutnick's testimony was published on May 14, 2026.

Transcripts of interviews with Howard Lutnick and Ted Waitt were released as part of the panel's investigation into Epstein.

The House Oversight Committee released the transcript from Ted Waitt's April 30, 2026 interview with the panel.

Howard Lutnick appeared voluntarily before the House Oversight Committee on May 6, 2026; he recounted the 2005 New York home visit, described Epstein's massage-room remark as off-putting, and stated he cut ties with Epstein in 2005; he also described his 2012 island visit.

The committee conducted an interview with Ted Waitt on April 30, 2026, discussing Maxwell's role as estate manager and Waitt's limited interactions with Epstein; he said he was not aware of any nefarious conduct and that Maxwell had dated Epstein before they met.

Waitt noted Maxwell was charged in 2020; he said he was not aware of the allegations until then.

During a family vacation in the Caribbean in 2012, Lutnick confirmed visiting Epstein's island; he and his group dined outdoors at lunch and did not enter the residence.

Waitt said he had a discussion in 2011 with Epstein about scaffolding, which he described as meaningless and inconsequential.

Maxwell and Waitt's relationship lasted until 2010.

Lutnick previously told Congress that he cut ties with Epstein in 2005 after Epstein used sexual innuendo to explain why he owned the massage table in a room at Epstein's home.

Lutnick and his wife were invited to Epstein's New York home in 2005; after coffee they were shown a room with a massage table and candles, and Epstein allegedly said, 'Every day and the right kind of massage,' a remark Lutnick found off-putting before they left.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Ted Waitt's relationship began in 2004 and lasted until 2010.