By Staff Reporter | NewsAmericasNow.com
News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Mon. May 18, 2026: Jeffrey Epstein’s Caribbean island is back in the international spotlight – and this time a sitting member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet is at the center of the storm.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a billionaire and former Wall Street investment banker, told the US House Oversight Committee last week that a 2012 visit to Little Saint James – the infamous private island in the US Virgin Islands once owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein – amounted to nothing more than “chitchat,” according to a transcript of the May 6th closed-door interview released last week, as reported by MS Now.
The revelation puts fresh and unwanted attention on the US Virgin Islands at a time when the Caribbean territory has been working to move past its association with one of the most notorious criminal cases in American history.
“Just Chitchat” On Epstein’s Island
As MS Now reported, Lutnick told lawmakers he had “no recollection of anything being discussed” during his visit to Little Saint James. “If you said chitchat, I’d go with that,” Lutnick said according to the released transcript. “‘Discussed’ sounds like there was like a discussion, which I don’t think there was.”
Lutnick told the committee that Epstein’s staff invited him to the island for lunch after learning he and his family would be vacationing in the Caribbean – though Lutnick said he had no idea how Epstein’s staff learned of his travel plans, describing it as “unsettling,” as MS Now reported. He described the visit as part of a family trip to the US Virgin Islands with his wife, children, friends, and nannies.
A Next-Door Neighbor For 14 Years
The Caribbean island visit was not Lutnick’s only connection to Epstein. As MS Now reported, Lutnick told lawmakers that Epstein lived next door to his family for 14 years – first meeting the financier in 2005 when Epstein’s staff knocked on his door and invited him for coffee.
Despite 14 years as neighbors, Lutnick insisted he interacted with Epstein in person only three times – describing each encounter as “meaningless and inconsequential.” During one visit, Lutnick said he asked Epstein about a massage table in his living room. Epstein replied “Every day and the right kind of massage,” according to the transcript reported by MS Now. Lutnick said he and his wife left shortly after.
Democrats Push Back
As MS Now reported, Democrats on the committee accused Lutnick of being evasive – particularly when asked whether Trump administration officials had instructed him on what to say. Lutnick’s interview was notably different from others who have appeared before the committee. Unlike former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and billionaire Les Wexner – who all gave formal depositions — Lutnick’s testimony was a transcribed interview that was not recorded on video, MS Now reported.
Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing. As MS Now noted, his appearance in the Epstein files does not imply guilt.
The Caribbean Island At The Center Of It All
Little Saint James – long dubbed “Epstein Island” – sits in the US Virgin Islands and remains one of the most scrutinized pieces of real estate in the Caribbean.
As Moneywise reported, the island was purchased in 2023 by Stephen Deckoff, founder of Black Diamond Capital Management, who paid less than half the asking price and announced plans for a luxury resort. As Moneywise noted, today there is no sign of that resort or any momentum toward it. The island continues to attract unwanted attention – drone operators, conspiracy theorists, and trespassers arriving by jet ski — as the ongoing release of Epstein files by the Trump administration keeps the case alive in the public consciousness, Moneywise reported.
For the US Virgin Islands – a US Caribbean territory that depends heavily on tourism and foreign investment – the continued international spotlight on Little Saint James represents an ongoing reputational challenge that shows no signs of fading, particularly as Washington’s appetite for Epstein-related revelations intensifies.