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Sleuth Report: New Gala Photographs Challenge Howard Lutnick’s Account of His Epstein Contact

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ByEpsteinWiki
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Overview

A July 17, 2026, investigation by Bekah Day examines photographs from a December 10, 2012, benefit for the Dubin Breast Center in New York City.

The original Business Insider event gallery captions Howard and Allison Lutnick posing with Glenn Dubin. Day also reproduces images she attributes to Epstein at the gala, including one she identifies as showing Eva Andersson Dubin. The latter identification is not independently established by an original named caption in the sources checked here.

The discovery matters because Lutnick testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that he interacted with Epstein in person only three times during his life. He identified those encounters as a 2005 townhouse visit, a brief 2011 discussion at Epstein’s residence, and a December 2012 lunch on Little Saint James.

The reported photographic overlap places the gala within the chronology under review. It does not, by itself, prove that Lutnick and Epstein spoke, posed together, or knowingly attended as companions.

The photographs therefore create a legitimate question about Lutnick’s account. They do not independently prove that he committed perjury.

Lutnick’s Public Account of Jeffrey Epstein

During a 2025 podcast interview, Lutnick described visiting Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse around 2005.

Lutnick said he was disturbed when Epstein showed him a massage room and made an inappropriate comment. According to Lutnick, he and his wife decided immediately that he should avoid Epstein.

That account created the public impression that Lutnick had one disturbing encounter with Epstein and then severed contact.

Records released by the Department of Justice later demonstrated that the relationship did not end in 2005. The documents show additional contact, scheduling efforts, a family visit to Little Saint James, financial overlap, and communications between the offices of Epstein and Lutnick.

EpsteinWiki’s Howard Lutnick profile documents the widening gap between Lutnick’s initial public description and the surviving records.

What Lutnick Told Congress

Lutnick appeared for a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee on May 6, 2026.

In his opening statement, he said he had interacted with Epstein in person only three times. He repeatedly described each encounter as meaningless and inconsequential.

The three occasions he identified were:

  1. A 2005 visit to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse
  2. A 2011 conversation in Epstein’s foyer concerning scaffolding or construction work
  3. A December 23, 2012, family lunch on Little Saint James

Lutnick told the committee that these were the only three occasions he could remember.

The official Howard Lutnick congressional transcript records a voluntary, unsworn interview. Committee counsel stated that Lutnick remained legally required to answer truthfully.

Epstein Data also provides a congressional testimony archive that links Lutnick’s testimony with a witness brief and related records.

The December 2012 Gala

Day attributes the newly highlighted photographs to the December 10, 2012 benefit for the Dubin Breast Center. The contemporary gallery, the invitation, and the later image identifications have different provenance, described below.

Julia La Roche’s December 11, 2012 Business Insider gallery provides a contemporary source for the Lutnicks posing with Glenn Dubin at the preceding evening’s benefit. Day additionally identifies Fekkai in that group image; the original gallery caption does not name him.

Day identifies another image as Epstein with Eva Andersson Dubin. Without a matching original caption or authenticated unredacted record naming Eva, that identification remains attributed to Day. A different released image, EFTA01187652, retains the album label “Dubin Breast Center Benefit, NYC 2012” but does not supply participant names or an exact event date in its visible text. No redacted person is identified here.

The invitation chain EFTA00527712, pages 1–2 independently identifies the December 10, 2012 benefit and lists Eva and Glenn Dubin and Allison and Howard Lutnick among its co-chairs. In the forwarded November 14 message, Epstein says he took a table. The invitation and his statement do not establish an amount paid, his attendance, or a meeting with any particular co-chair.

The event occurred less than two weeks before Lutnick and his family visited Epstein’s private island for lunch.

This chronology is important:

  1. December 10, 2012, the Dubin Breast Center benefit featured in the gallery and invitation records
  2. December 19, 2012, Lutnick’s office communicated with Epstein’s staff about meeting in the Caribbean
  3. December 23, 2012, Lutnick and his family visited Little Saint James for lunch

The gala belongs in the chronology surrounding the island visit, while invitations, reported attendance, and documented personal interactions remain distinct categories of evidence.

What the Gala Photographs Prove

The contemporary gallery confirms the Lutnicks’ presence with Glenn Dubin. The additional photographs discussed by Day require their own original captions and provenance; neither source establishes that Lutnick interacted with Epstein.

Being photographed with Glenn Dubin, or appearing at a benefit organized by the Dubins, does not establish knowledge of or participation in Epstein’s crimes.

The photographs do not prove that Lutnick and Epstein spoke with each other. They do not show the two men posing together. They also do not establish that Lutnick knew Epstein would attend.

This limitation is essential when considering whether Lutnick’s congressional testimony was false.

Lutnick testified that he had only three in person interactions with Epstein. Attending the same large gala is not automatically an interaction. Evidence that the two men spoke, sat together, arrived together, or coordinated their attendance would be necessary to prove an additional personal encounter.

However, the event complicates Lutnick’s broader attempt to portray himself as entirely removed from Epstein’s social and philanthropic environment.

The Island Visit Is Confirmed by Epstein Data

The strongest contradiction of Lutnick’s original public account is not the gala photograph. It is the documentary record of his family’s visit to Little Saint James.

Epstein Data record EFTA00401048 preserves a November 20, 2012, email from Lesley Groff to Lutnick’s office.

Groff wrote that Epstein understood Lutnick would be in Saint Thomas during the holidays and wanted to exchange telephone numbers so the two men could meet.

Epstein Data record EFTA00398852 contains the December correspondence arranging the visit. Lutnick wrote that his family would arrive in Saint Thomas and planned to continue to Saint Barthélemy or Anguilla.

Epstein invited the group to lunch on Little Saint James.

During his congressional interview, Lutnick acknowledged that he, his wife, his children, another family, and staff visited the island on December 23, 2012.

He characterized the visit as a brief social lunch and said he did not remember why the group decided to attend.

Lutnick’s Three Encounter Claim

The gala creates a question because Lutnick told Congress that he was never with Epstein socially, professionally, or philanthropically.

At other points in the transcript, Lutnick acknowledged that the island lunch was social. He attempted to distinguish being at an event with his wife and family from having an independent social relationship with Epstein.

Day’s account raises a question about shared attendance at a philanthropic event. That is different from proof of a personal interaction, and the attribution of each image should be checked separately.

Still, the photographs do not establish direct interaction.

A responsible fact check should therefore reach two conclusions:

First, Lutnick’s broad public narrative of avoiding Epstein after 2005 is contradicted by emails, the island visit, and continuing documentary overlap.

Second, the gala photographs alone are insufficient to prove that his statement to Congress about three personal interactions was knowingly false.

Additional Meetings and Scheduling Records

The Epstein files contain more than the island correspondence.

Epstein Data record EFTA00587232 documents scheduling related to drinks between Epstein and Lutnick.

Epstein Data’s Howard Lutnick and Glenn Dubin investigation identifies more than 20 records reflecting an active social and professional connection during the period from 2011 through 2013.

The records include:

  1. Scheduling attempts
  2. Contact information exchanges
  3. The Little Saint James visit
  4. Documents transmitted between offices
  5. Financial materials involving Cantor Fitzgerald
  6. Lutnick’s placement on contact and call lists with other Epstein associates

These records do not show that Lutnick participated in Epstein’s sexual abuse or trafficking operation. Epstein Data specifically notes that no sexual misconduct allegation against Lutnick appears in the identified evidence.

Their importance is that they demonstrate a deeper and longer relationship than the original one encounter narrative suggested.

Financial and Business Overlap

Epstein records also document business overlap involving Lutnick and Cantor Fitzgerald.

Lutnick and Epstein were signatories to investment documents involving AdFin Solutions. During his congressional interview, Lutnick said he did not know Epstein was another signatory when the agreement was executed.

Additional documents contain Cantor Fitzgerald term sheets and a 2013 discussion in which Lutnick sent material and Epstein commented on a fee arrangement.

Epstein Data record EFTA01958916 is connected with the 2013 financial discussion.

The existence of the documents establishes overlapping business activity. It does not prove an illegal financial relationship.

EpsteinWiki has previously examined these issues in Howard Lutnick Transcript: Epstein Neighbor, Island Visit, AdFin Emails, and the Gaps Congress Did Not Close.

Readers can also review the Howard Lutnick Congressional Witness Brief.

The Dubin Connection

The gala was held in support of the Dubin Breast Center, which was established by Glenn and Eva Andersson Dubin.

The Dubins maintained a longstanding social relationship with Epstein. Eva had dated Epstein before her marriage to Glenn Dubin. The family continued associating with Epstein after his Florida conviction.

Epstein Data records document communications, travel, financial activity, and continued contact involving the Dubins.

EFTA01765357 preserves a December 1, 2012 exchange between Eva Dubin and Epstein about reaching each other and his travel. It documents direct contact before the gala, not an arrangement for Lutnick to meet Epstein there.

The December 19, 2019 prosecution memorandum EFTA02731082, page 58, Bates EFTA02731139 records a redacted witness’s allegation that Maxwell directed her to engage in sex acts with Glenn Dubin. This is an account summarized by prosecutors, not a finding that the conduct occurred; the redacted witness is not identified here.

Dubin has denied allegations of sexual misconduct, as reported by Vanity Fair. The cited memorandum is not a criminal charge against him.

EFTA00098755, page 3, Bates EFTA00098757 lists “Glen Dubin” under a heading about massages. The six-page memo recommends investigative steps but does not visibly identify its author or date, and the list supplies no supporting account for this entry. It should not be described as a prosecution finding or as proof that a massage or sexual act occurred.

The phrase “Epstein girls” appears in the government material. It does not establish that every massage was sexual or that every person listed committed a crime.

EpsteinWiki provides additional background through its profiles of Glenn Dubin and Eva Andersson Dubin.

Epstein Attended the Gala After His Conviction

By December 2012, Epstein’s Florida prosecution was public.

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges of soliciting prostitution and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. He served approximately 13 months in custody under unusually permissive work release conditions.

He was also required to register as a sex offender.

It is therefore accurate to say that Epstein’s criminal status was publicly discoverable by 2012.

However, a photograph of another attendee at the same event does not prove that the attendee knew Epstein’s legal history or understood the full scope of his conduct.

Lutnick told Congress that he did not remember knowing in 2012 that Epstein had pleaded guilty to an offense involving a minor.

That claim may be difficult for readers to accept given Lutnick’s proximity to Epstein and his own account of being disturbed by Epstein in 2005. Nevertheless, the gala photograph does not independently disprove Lutnick’s claimed lack of knowledge.

Frédéric Fekkai’s Presence

Day identifies the additional man in the photograph with the Lutnicks and Glenn Dubin as Frédéric Fekkai; the original Business Insider caption does not name him.

Sarah Kellen named Fekkai during her House Oversight testimony as one of three men she accused of sexually assaulting her. Fekkai has not been criminally convicted of an Epstein related offense.

The unsigned memo discussed above also lists Fekkai under the massages heading on page 3. The entry does not provide the underlying evidence.

Relevant evidence appears in EFTA00098755.

Kellen’s allegation should be reported as an allegation. Fekkai’s appearance in a photograph with Lutnick does not establish that Lutnick knew about it or knew the circumstances of Fekkai’s relationship with Epstein.

Jennifer Kalin in the Gala Archive

Day also identifies Jennifer Kalin in a photograph from the gala.

Kalin worked as an assistant within Epstein’s network. Records connect her with scheduling, personal arrangements, Karyna Shuliak, and communications concerning Kimbal Musk.

If the identification is accurate, Kalin’s presence adds another documented Epstein connected person to the event.

However, the identification requires an original named caption or another independently sourced record. Facial resemblance or comparison alone should not be used to identify someone in the background of a society photograph.

Kalin’s presence would help establish the density of Epstein’s network at the event. It would not prove Lutnick interacted with her.

The Political Contribution Before Lutnick’s Testimony

Day also notes that Lutnick contributed $5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund on April 1, 2026.

The contribution occurred approximately five weeks before his May 6 congressional interview.

The Congressional Leadership Fund supports Republican candidates for the House. The timing creates an appearance question because the Oversight Committee was controlled by House Republicans.

However, no evidence presented in the article proves that the contribution influenced the questioning, scheduling, release, or treatment of Lutnick’s testimony.

The donation is a documented political fact. Any claim that it purchased favorable treatment would require evidence of coordination, a request, or an exchange.

No Evidence Lutnick Participated in Epstein’s Sexual Crimes

The known evidence documents social contact, an island visit, financial overlap, scheduling, and attendance within overlapping elite circles.

It does not establish that Lutnick participated in Epstein’s sexual abuse or trafficking operation.

Epstein Data’s investigation states that the principal FBI tip concerning Lutnick involved financial allegations from a former employee or contractor. The report found no sexual misconduct allegation against Lutnick in the reviewed records.

Epstein Data record EFTA00020515 preserves the FBI intake report containing those financial allegations.

The tip is not a finding of fact. Epstein Data notes that the source appeared to have a strong employment grievance and that several broader financial accusations were not corroborated within the files.

Fact Check Assessment

The strongest independently checked gala material is the contemporary gallery and the invitation correspondence. Day’s additional image identifications remain attributed where original captions or matching records have not been established.

The timing is significant because the gala occurred shortly before Lutnick’s family visited Little Saint James.

The article is also correct that Lutnick’s initial public account understated the extent of his documented contact with Epstein.

However, several conclusions require qualification:

  1. Attendance at the same gala does not prove Lutnick and Epstein interacted.
  2. The photographs do not independently prove perjury.
  3. Glenn and Eva Dubin should not be described as convicted coconspirators. Neither was convicted of an Epstein related crime.
  4. Allegations by survivors must remain clearly attributed.
  5. Jennifer Kalin’s identification should be independently verified.
  6. Lutnick’s political contribution does not prove that he received favorable treatment from the committee.
  7. The available evidence does not accuse Lutnick of participating in sexual abuse or trafficking.

The strongest conclusion is that Lutnick’s relationship with Epstein extended beyond the single encounter impression created by his 2025 podcast account.

Key Takeaways

  1. The gallery and invitation document the December 2012 Dubin Breast Center benefit; claims about additional photographed attendees require image-specific provenance.
  2. The reported image overlap does not establish that the two men met; additional image identifications should retain their source attribution.
  3. The gala occurred less than two weeks before Lutnick’s family visited Little Saint James.
  4. Lutnick told Congress that he interacted with Epstein in person only three times.
  5. The gala creates an additional question but does not independently prove another interaction.
  6. Epstein Data records confirm scheduling, contact exchanges, the island visit, and business overlap after 2005.
  7. Lutnick’s original public account did not fully describe the later contact documented in the files.
  8. No reviewed evidence establishes that Lutnick participated in Epstein’s sexual crimes.
  9. The Dubins maintained a documented relationship with Epstein after his Florida conviction.
  10. The newly surfaced photographs are important timeline evidence, but they must be interpreted with appropriate limits.

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