A U.S. House committee on Monday released Jeffrey Epstein's so-called "birthday book," which includes a controversial letter allegedly written by President Donald Trump more than two decades ago. The move reignited debate over Trump's past ties to the disgraced financier and prompted immediate denials from the White House.
The letter, dated 2003, is addressed to Epstein three years before sex-abuse allegations against him first surfaced publicly. The page features a crude sketch of a naked woman's silhouette with text styled as a conversation between Trump and Epstein. "May every day be another wonderful secret," the message reads, followed by Trump calling Epstein a "pal" and a signature line with the name "Donald."
The document was turned over to Congress by Epstein's lawyers and included in hundreds of pages of materials released by both Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight Committee. Among the documents were Epstein's will and his 2007 non-prosecution agreement with Florida prosecutors.
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich dismissed the letter as fraudulent. "Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it's not his signature. DEFAMATION!" he posted on X, referring to Trump's defamation lawsuit against News Corp., parent company of the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the letter's existence in July. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt added: "It's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it."
Trump himself has repeatedly called the letter a "FAKE" and denied ever writing or drawing for Epstein. He has also argued that granting it credibility undermines the independence of the presidency, citing his broader claim of immunity. Vice President JD Vance described the Wall Street Journal's report as "complete and utter bullshit."
But critics say Trump's denials are contradicted by past evidence. The Washington Post and CNN reported that Trump regularly donated signed doodles to charity in the early 2000s, raising doubts about his claim, "I never wrote a picture in my life." In addition, signature experts and former associates pointed to numerous examples of Trump using the looser, cursive "Donald" style that appears in the Epstein letter. Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann on Monday produced a 2014 letter from Trump signed in the same manner.
The "birthday book," presented to Epstein on his 50th birthday, is filled with photos, anecdotes, and congratulatory notes from acquaintances. Alleged messages from other public figures include one from former President Bill Clinton praising Epstein's "childlike curiosity" and another from former Bear Stearns CEO Alan "Ace" Greenberg celebrating his "meteoric success." Clinton and Greenberg could not be reached for comment, while Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, also named in the book, did not respond to inquiries.
The release has stirred fresh political fallout for Trump, whose supporters have long pushed conspiracy theories around Epstein's death in 2019 while rejecting scrutiny of the president's own connections to the financier. House Democrats wrote on X: "What is he hiding? Release the files!" while Republicans emphasized that disclosing more than 33,000 pages of records should end speculation of a cover-up.
