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5️⃣ Lutnick Finally Admits He Went to the Island
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified before the Senate Oversight Committee today and conceded for the first time that he did in fact visit Jeffrey Epstein’s private island — directly contradicting his previous sworn testimony and recent podcast statements. Lutnick claimed he stopped by “just for lunch” in 2012 while on a family boat trip, insisting his wife, four children, and nannies were present and that he “doesn’t recall” why they went. “He made sure to tell us he collected all his nannies and kids before he left Epstein Island,” Dean noted. “Was he planning on leaving some there?” Justice Department documents show Lutnick was in contact with Epstein through 2018, and some 250 emails between the Lutnick family and Epstein detail a cordial, ongoing relationship that included business discussions, fundraiser plans, and an email listing the specific ages, names, and sexes of children coming to the island. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt offered only a tepid defense, calling Lutnick “a very important member of President Trump’s team” before quickly pivoting to other topics.
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Today's Lutnick testimony is a perfect example. We checked Ground News and found the same Senate hearing framed completely differently across outlets. CNN led with Lutnick contradicting his own sworn statements. The Washington Times buried a line saying there's "no suggestion of wrongdoing" on Trump's part. Fox News called it "a failing attempt by the legacy media to distract from the administration's accomplishments." Same hearing, same lies, wildly different stories. Ground News rates sources by ownership, bias, and factuality so you can see who's funding each narrative. That's why we partner with them — our mission is accountability journalism, theirs is media literacy.
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4️⃣ Six Redacted Names Unmasked
Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie visited the DOJ to read the unredacted Epstein files and emerged to announce that six wealthy, powerful men had been hidden from the public for no apparent reason. After the congressmen flagged the improper redactions, the DOJ acknowledged its “mistake” and released the names: Salvatore Navora, an NYPD detective previously disciplined for connections to an escort service; Zurab Mukhaladze; Leonic Leonov; Nicola Caputo, an Italian politician and former member of the European Parliament; Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai Ports World, who allegedly sent Epstein torture videos and requests for 10 and 11-year-old girls and purchased the neighboring island to Little St. James; and billionaire Leslie Wexner, labeled a co-conspirator by the FBI. “If we found six men they were hiding in two hours,” Khanna said on the House floor, “imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files.” Wexner is expected to testify on February 18.
3️⃣ One Million Trump Mentions
Representative Jamie Raskin walked out of the DOJ redaction room and confirmed that a search for Donald Trump in the unredacted Epstein files returned more than one million results. With only about 38,000 mentions in the publicly released files, that means roughly 960,000 references to Trump were scrubbed by the FBI before release. “It doesn’t happen because of press clippings or duplicates,” Dean explained. “It happens because a person is deeply and structurally embedded into the documentary record of a federal investigation.” The unredacted files also include a 2009 email exchange between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell recounting a phone call with Trump in which Trump admitted Epstein was never asked to leave Mar-a-Lago — he was a guest, not a member — directly contradicting Trump’s longtime claim that he banned Epstein from the club. The files further reveal that Trump told the Palm Beach police chief after Epstein’s arrest that “everybody knew” what Epstein was doing and that Epstein was “stealing women from him.”
2️⃣ The Melania Connection
Narativ’s exclusive reporting revealed two references in the unredacted files — one made under a proffer, meaning under oath — stating that Jeffrey Epstein introduced Donald Trump to Melania. Trump reportedly kept emerging from a bedroom telling people Melania was “a great piece of ass.” The Epstein files show Melania entered the United States through the modeling world connected to Paolo Zampolli, who now holds a diplomatic position in the Trump administration, and through Elite Models, part of Epstein’s orbit. The connection dovetails with Narativ’s ongoing investigation with Ellie Leonard into a coded survivor journal that names Mar-a-Lago as what the survivor described as a “slave camp” and child prostitution center. “Every single brick in this wall turns up to be a brick in the foundation that proves Melania Trump is absolutely part of this,” Dean said, pointing to her Einstein visa, her documented ties to Epstein-connected figures, and her reported direct line to Vladimir Putin.
1️⃣ The Cover-Up Is the Story
The biggest revelation of the day may be what we’re not seeing. Khanna confirmed that 70 to 80 percent of the Epstein files remain redacted and that the FBI sent pre-scrubbed files to the DOJ — meaning survivor statements naming powerful men who raped and abused underage girls were systematically hidden before Congress ever passed the Epstein Transparency Act. “Donald Trump’s FBI scrubbed these files in March, long before Thomas Massie and I passed the Epstein Transparency Act,” Khanna told the House. Lauren Boebert emerged from the redaction room saying there are “definitely” implicated co-conspirators and that Maxwell deserves more prison time, not clemency. Marjorie Taylor Greene said publicly it’s “way worse than you even think.” A new statement from Epstein survivors accused the DOJ of perpetuating “the very dynamics Epstein relied upon — powerful actors protected by secrecy while victims are exposed, scrutinized and made to bear the consequences.” Deputy AG Todd Blanche declared the review “over.” It is anything but. The survivors sent a letter to Pam Bondi ahead of her testimony before the judiciary committee tomorrow morning.
The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.
Thank you Ellie Leonard, Robin Payes, Richard Hogan, MD, PhD(2), DBA, Leah Anderson, CO, and many others for tuning into my live video with Dean Blundell! Join me for my next live video in the app.
