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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 photographs place Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his wife, Allison Lutnick, at the event with Glenn Dubin and Frédéric Fekkai. Separate photographs from the same gala show Jeffrey Epstein with Eva Andersson Dubin.

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 gala photographs establish that Lutnick and Epstein attended the same charitable event in December 2012. They do not, by themselves, prove that the men 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 his sworn statements.

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

The December 2012 Gala

The newly highlighted photographs come from a December 10, 2012, gala honoring the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai.

One photograph shows Glenn Dubin, Howard Lutnick, Allison Lutnick, and Frédéric Fekkai together.

A separate photograph from the same event shows Jeffrey Epstein with Eva Andersson Dubin.

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, Lutnick and Epstein attended the Dubin Breast Center gala
  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 therefore belongs within the documented timeline of contact surrounding the island visit.

What the Gala Photographs Prove

The photographs prove that Lutnick and Epstein attended the same benefit on December 10, 2012.

They also show Lutnick socializing with Glenn Dubin and Fekkai, two people who appear elsewhere in Epstein related records.

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.

The newly located gala photographs show that Lutnick and Epstein were present at the same philanthropic event. That weakens an expansive interpretation of Lutnick’s claim that he was never in a philanthropic setting with Epstein.

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 sworn statement 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.

Epstein Data record EFTA01765357 preserves a December 2012 communication from Eva Dubin to Epstein.

Epstein Data record EFTA02731082 contains a prosecution memorandum describing a survivor’s allegation that Maxwell directed her to perform sexual acts involving Glenn Dubin.

Dubin denied the allegation and was not criminally charged.

Epstein Data record EFTA00098755 is a prosecution planning document that lists Glenn Dubin among individuals who had received massages from girls connected with Epstein.

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

The photograph with Lutnick also includes celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai.

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.

A separate prosecution planning record listed Fekkai among people associated with massages involving girls from Epstein’s environment.

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 should be verified against the original agency caption, additional photographs, or facial comparison. A person standing in the background of a society photograph should not be treated as conclusively identified from appearance alone.

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 central discovery in Day’s report is supported. Howard and Allison Lutnick attended the December 10, 2012, Dubin Breast Center gala, and Epstein was photographed at the same event.

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. Lutnick and Epstein attended the same December 2012 gala supporting the Dubin Breast Center.
  2. Separate photographs place both men at the event, but no available photograph shows them together.
  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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