HUNTER: Ugly face of trade deal’s disturbing Jeffrey Epstein links

Conspiracy enthusiasts posit that the Trump administration's heavy-handed approach to Canada and other stunned allies has much to do with dead pedophile

Published Aug 25, 2026  •  3 minute read

JEFFREY WHO? U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gestures as he attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 21, 2026. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI /AFP via Getty Images

Howard Lutnick is the ugly face of bullying in the Canada-U.S. trade negotiations.

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Conspiracy enthusiasts posit that the Trump administration’s heavy-handed approach to Canada and other stunned allies has much to do with a dead pedophile named Jeffrey Epstein.

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Comms people call this a distraction. I am not onside with this theory and yet …

Lutnick — a billionaire financier and the former CEO of monster brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald — is on the periphery of the sordid Epstein epic. But Lutnick has made seemingly contradictory statements been caught in a slew of what falsehoods lies under oath when testifying about his relationship with Epstein, who topped himself in 2019, leading some to accuse him of lying. An allegation Lutnick denies.

Lutnick’s nagging Epstein connection

Epstein was awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Now, thousands of pages of previously secret files are pulling back the curtain on people like Lutnick.

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Justice Department on Dec. 19, 2025, shows Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy U.S. financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking underage girls, and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell in an unidentified location. The convicted sex offender’s accomplice Maxwell refused on Feb. 9, 2026, to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers but her attorney said she was prepared to speak if granted clemency by President Donald Trump. Photo by Handout /US Department of Justice/AFP via Getty Images

“He caught himself in Jeffrey Epstein’s web,” the author of the seminal Epstein tome, Barry Levine told The Toronto Sun. “His story had been that he once stopped by Epstein’s house [they were next-door neighbours in New York] and saw the massage table and found it creepy. Lutnick and his wife said they were creeped out.”

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Lutnick claimed after that incident, he had nothing to do with Epstein.

Legendary reporter Barry Levine has added to the Jeffrey Epstein canon with his new tome, The Spider. Photo by HANDOUT /PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE

But Levine — who wrote the bestseller The Spider: Inside the Tangled Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — believes “multiple events” chronicled in the Epstein Files “showed he was lying.”

There was the time he stopped in with his wife and kids for lunch with the master manipulator at his Caribbean redoubt.

‘It turns out he’s a little sleazy’

“Lutnick was caught lying in front of the House Oversight Committee. It turned out that he forgot about all his other interactions,” Levine noted.

“It turned out questions were raised about Lutnick’s truthfulness and in front of the committee. It turns out he’s a little sleazy. To me, it’s very disconcerting.”

Howard Lutnick speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York. Photo by Evan Vucci /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

But don’t take it from my old friend Levine: Both Democrats and Republicans found the loudmouthed Trump insider to have been less than truthful at the committee looking into Epstein’s numerous crimes.

“He was evasive, nervous — he was dishonest,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) told reporters. “He would not admit to lying, which he clearly did.”

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Another Democrat on the committee, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) added: “They deserve to see the sweat on the secretary’s brow as he struggles to answer basic questions about his lies to the American people.”

Suspecting that the businessman was “less than 100% truthful”, Republican chair James Comer warned: “If we find that there were any misstatements by Lutnick, it’s a felony to lie to Congress, and you’ll be held accountable.” Comer would later say that Lutnick’s testimony was “very transparent.”

It becomes a matter of judgement

Lutnick has never been accused of wrongdoing in regards to Epstein’s heinous crimes. But there is a matter of judgement if you’re the guy Trump is looking to for answers. To whit:

— Visited Epstein’s infamous island with his family in 2012 which is quite a feat since he originally claimed he split from the sex monster in 2005. (Lutnick claimed that his original statement indicated he was accurate and said he was never alone with Epstein after 2005.)

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— Lutnick said he and Epstein were neighbours betwwen 2005 and 2019 when they met for a quick coffee. That’s when he saw the notorious massage table during a tour of Epstein’s manse.

— And Lutnick cut him off in 2005, right? Nope. They had the lunch at Pedophile Island in 2012.

— He was also caught short when he scrambled as to why he was on Epstein’s island. Lutnick called it “inexplicable.”

NY POST

“This stuff all needs greater explanation and clarity,” Levine said.

Epstein, director Brett Ratner and two unknown women. US DOJ

Lutnick continued his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein long after the wealthy pedophile pleaded guilty in Florida in 2008 to felony charges of soliciting prostitution and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.

Palm Beach cops knew Epstein was sexually assaulting underage girls but political pressure torpedoed the heavier charges that would have seen the pervert put away for good.

‘It’s a real question of character’

Not really the kind of guy you want around.

“Howard Lutnick has access to information. There’s no question he wouldn’t have known about Epstein’s arrest and conviction but still he associated with him,” Levine said.

“It’s a real question of character. He has a lot more to answer for to the American public.”

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@HunterTOSun

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