Howard Lutnick, the US Commerce Secretary, described his 2010 meeting with Jeffrey Epstein as deeply unsettling during closed-door testimony to Congress on Friday, providing the most detailed public account yet of the encounter. Lutnick told lawmakers he walked into Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse expecting a routine business discussion, only to find the financier’s demeanor eerily controlling and his questions intrusive. ‘I left that meeting feeling like I had been through something I couldn’t quite place,’ Lutnick said, according to newly released transcripts.

Epstein’s name has resurfaced in Washington after the House Oversight Committee released transcripts from interviews with Lutnick and Ted Waitt, the billionaire co-founder of Gateway Computers. Both men recounted interactions with Epstein that left them uneasy, though neither alleged criminal conduct during their encounters. Lawmakers are scrutinizing whether Epstein leveraged his social circles to cultivate influence, including among high-profile business figures.

Waitt, who met Epstein in the mid-2000s, told investigators the financier struck him as ‘manipulative’ and prone to probing personal questions. ‘He had a way of steering conversations toward topics I didn’t feel comfortable discussing,’ Waitt said. Neither man reported criminal activity but emphasized Epstein’s ability to cultivate relationships with influential figures across industries. Their testimonies add to a growing mosaic of accounts detailing Epstein’s social maneuvering in elite circles.

The transcripts, obtained exclusively by this newspaper, reveal Lutnick’s account of Epstein’s townhouse as a place where ‘the rules of normal conversation didn’t apply.’ Lutnick described Epstein’s home as sparsely furnished but filled with artifacts that felt deliberately curated to intimidate. ‘It wasn’t the decor that made me uneasy,’ Lutnick told investigators. ‘It was the way he moved through the space—not just physically, but psychologically. Like he was testing boundaries.’

Law enforcement and congressional investigators have long sought to understand how Epstein cultivated relationships with powerful individuals, including those in business and politics. Lutnick’s role as Commerce Secretary—one of the most senior economic posts in the US government—has intensified scrutiny on his connection to Epstein. The transcripts do not indicate any wrongdoing by Lutnick but raise questions about the vetting of officials with ties to controversial figures.

Waitt’s testimony provides additional context to Epstein’s social strategy. The Gateway co-founder described Epstein as ‘a master of deflection,’ redirecting conversations to topics that served his interests. Waitt recalled Epstein asking about his charitable giving before abruptly switching to personal finance, a tactic Waitt found ‘oddly invasive.’ Neither Lutnick nor Waitt reported the encounters to authorities at the time.

The release of these transcripts comes amid a broader congressional probe into Epstein’s network of associates, including his 2008 plea deal in Florida. Lawmakers are examining whether Epstein’s social influence extended beyond his known legal troubles, potentially embedding him in corridors of power. Lutnick and Waitt’s accounts, while not alleging criminal acts, underscore the financier’s ability to navigate elite spaces with unsettling ease.