Fundraising firm hired by Heinrich reached out to Epstein in 2012 

A representative for a fundraising firm sent an email to Jeffrey Epstein in 2012 on behalf of then-U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich offering to set up a lunch meeting between the two men in New York City, U.S. Department of Justice records show.

A spokeswoman for Heinrich, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012, said Thursday that the lunch meeting never occurred, that Heinrich did not approve seeking the lunch invitation and never accepted a campaign contribution from Epstein.

Heinrich was one of a dozen Democratic members of Congress who hired the New York City firm Dynamic SRG to raise money for the candidates that year, according to the firm's 2012 client list.

"Senator Heinrich never met Jeffery Epstein," said Caty Payette, Heinrich's communications director. "Heinrich also never accepted any campaign contributions from Epstein." Nor does the senator have any record of Epstein attending a Heinrich campaign event, she said.

Dynamic SRG was hired by the Heinrich for Senate Campaign in 2012 to raise campaign funds in the New York City area, Payette said.

News reports indicate that Dynamic SRG reached out to Epstein on behalf of a number of Democratic candidates in 2012 with invitations to attend fundraising events and have lunch meetings with candidates.

Epstein, a financier and billionaire, was convicted in 2008 in Florida of soliciting a minor for sex. He died by suicide in 2019 while in custody on federal charges of sex trafficking a minor.

Lisa Rossi, a partner with Dynamic SRG, sent the email invitation on July 16, 2012, to Epstein's scheduling assistant, Lesley Groff, who forwarded it to Epstein's email account, DOJ records show. The records show no indication that Epstein received the email or responded to it.

The email said that Heinrich would be in New York City the following day and asked if Epstein would be available to meet with him at 12:30 p.m. at an unlisted location.

Payette said Heinrich's campaign was not apprised in advance of Rossi's lunch invitation.

"Their emails and calls to potential event attendees were not preapproved by the Heinrich for Senate Campaign, meaning the campaign would not have preauthorized or otherwise known who Dynamic SRG was reaching out to until attendees were confirmed," Payette said in a text message.