“It was nice to see you,” Jeffrey Epstein wrote to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Four days later, the two had entered into a business deal. The U.S. commerce secretary has previously stated that he had only “limited interactions” with Epstein, but newly released documents reveal that they were conducting business together as late as 2014. On 28 December 2012, Lutnick and Epstein signed an agreement to acquire stakes in Adfin, a now-defunct advertising technology company. Their signatures appear in the newly released Epstein files, according to CBS News. Lutnick — who, according to the New York Post, was previously Epstein’s neighbour — has said that he and his wife cut ties with Epstein in 2005 after being given a tour of Epstein’s New York townhouse. “I will never be in a room with that despicable person again,” the commerce secretary said at the time. However, the documents suggest that Epstein and Lutnick remained in contact. Emails contained in the Epstein files show that they planned to have drinks together in 2011, CBS News reports. In 2012, the Lutnick couple and their four children also planned a visit to Epstein’s controversial island, Little St. James, and on 24 December 2012 the commerce secretary was invited to lunch at Epstein’s home. Following that lunch, Epstein’s assistant wrote an email to Lutnick on Epstein’s behalf, the files show, according to CBS News: “It was nice to see you.” The Adfin agreement was signed four days later —BT (The signatures of Howard Lutnick and Jeffrey Epstein appear on pages of a 2012 contract for Adfin. Screenshot: U.S. Department of Justice.)