Jeffrey Epstein

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in a notable break with the Department of Justice , claimed late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever” — and may have traded the feds video of his rich and well-connected associates getting massages from young women in exchange for a controversial 2008 plea deal. Lutnick made the shocking allegations to The Post’s Miranda Devine on the latest episode of “Pod Force One, ” out now. The 64-year-old cabinet secretary said Epstein himself showed off his notorious “massage room” while giving Lutnick and his wife a tour of the infamous East 71st Street townhouse after the couple moved in next door to the since-disgraced financier in 2005. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed Jeffrey Epstein was “the greatest blackmailer ever” and may have traded to the feds video footage of powerful associates getting massages in exchange for a plea deal in 2008. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post Lutnick said he and his wife quickly excused themselves and left Epstein’s home, “and in the six to eight steps it takes to get from his house to my house, my wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.” When asked by Devine whether Epstein’s rich and powerful associates — including the likes of Prince Andrew and Microsoft founder Bill Gates — “could hang around him and not see what you saw, or did they see it and ignore it,” Lutnick responded, “They participated.” “They get a massage, that’s what his MO was. ‘Get a massage, get a massage,’ and what happened in that massage room, I assume, was on video,” the commerce secretary went on. “This guy was the greatest blackmailer ever, blackmailed people. That’s how he had money.” A spokesperson for Gates told The Post in a statement: “This is absolutely false. Gates met with Epstein to discuss philanthropy and nothing else.” Lutnick added: “I assume way back when they traded those videos in exchange for him getting that 18-month sentence, which allowed him to have visits and be out of jail. I mean, he’s a serial sex offender. How could he get 18 months and be able to go to his office during the day and have visitors and stuff? There must have been a trade. The DOJ and FBI released a memo July 6 claiming a systematic review had found that Epstein held no “client list” of rich and powerful associates. “I assume way back when they traded those videos in exchange for him getting that 18-month sentence, which allowed him to have visits and be out of jail,” Lutnick added. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post The memo also stated there was “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions” and no “evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties” — despite Epstein having “harmed over one thousand victims.” Epstein, 66, was found dead in his Manhattan lockup on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges. Epstein quietly paid girls hundreds of dollars to give him massages in his Florida home, though none who spoke later with law enforcement said there were video recordings made of the encounters, according to the DOJ. Brigitte Stelzer Epstein quietly paid girls hundreds of dollars to give him massages in his Florida home, though none who spoke with law enforcement said that there were video recordings made of the encounters, according to a 2020 DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility report on the prosecution. The South Florida US Attorney’s Office, headed up then by Alex Acosta, had reached a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein due to evidentiary issues in order to force the financier to cop to state charges. Acosta has since expressed remorse about how its terms were not followed . “The Palm Beach State Attorney’s originally proposed resolution — no jail time or sex offender registration — was unacceptable to Mr. Acosta and his team,” said attorney Jeffrey Neiman, who represented the ex-Miami prosecu