WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his denial that he authored a lewd birthday note to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a day after the alleged letter was released to the public by the House Oversight Committee. The document, which was part of a larger collection of personal files subpoenaed from Epstein’s estate, has reignited the controversy surrounding the president’s past relationship with the late sex offender.
The alleged 2003 letter, first reported by The Wall Street Journal in July, is a type-written message framed within a sketch of a nude woman. A signature of “Donald” is placed near the outline’s pubic area. The note was reportedly one of many messages compiled by Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell for a book celebrating his 50th birthday.
“It’s not my signature and it’s not the way I speak,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday evening while making a rare trip out to dinner in Washington. “Anybody that’s covered me for a long time knows that’s not my language. It’s nonsense. And frankly, you’re wasting your time.”
The note itself is a short dialogue between “Donald” and “Jeffrey,” which includes lines such as “enigmas never age” and concludes with, “may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The president’s allies have pointed to differences between the signature on the alleged letter and documents he has signed since his 2017 presidential inauguration. However, The New York Times published several letters signed by Trump from the late 1990s and early 2000s, which bear a striking resemblance to the signature on the Epstein note. When asked if the White House would approve of a professional handwriting expert reviewing the documents, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Sure we would support that.”
Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.
The ongoing saga has been a source of repeated controversy for the Trump administration, which has previously come under fire for its handling of the Epstein case files. The president and his allies have attempted to frame the entire matter as a “hoax” being perpetuated by Democrats for political gain.
After the documents were published on Monday, Leavitt posted on social media that it was “very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” calling it “FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!” When pressed by reporters on Tuesday to clarify which aspect was a “hoax,” given the documents were provided by the Epstein estate, Leavitt clarified, “I did not say the documents are a hoax. I said the entire narrative surrounding Jeffrey Epstein right now that is absorbing many of the liberal cable channels on television is a hoax that is being perpetuated by opportunistic Democrats… who are trying to push this hoax against the president of the United States.”
Trump Again Denies Writing Lewd Birthday Note To Jeffrey Epstein As Congress Releases Documents
