Trump note to Epstein that he denies writing is released by Congress
[September 09, 2025]
By MICHELLE L. PRICE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released on
Monday a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly
signed by President Donald Trump, which he has denied.
The letter was included as part of a 50th birthday album compiled in
2003 for Epstein, a wealthy and well-connected financier who was once a
friend of Trump's. The full House committee on Monday night released a
copy of the entire album, which bore names of some other prominent
figures such as former President Bill Clinton and attorney Alan
Dershowitz in a “friends” section, and included other letters with
sexually provocative language.
Trump has said he did not write the letter or create the drawing of a
curvaceous woman that surrounds the letter, and he filed a $10 billion
lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal for earlier reporting on his
link to the letter.
“As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw
this picture, and he did not sign it,” White House press secretary
Karoline Leavitt said in a statement posted on X. “President Trump’s
legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted various
pictures on X of Trump’s signature over the years and wrote, “it’s not
his signature.”
As House Republicans left the Capitol on Monday night, many waved off
questions about the letter, echoing a similar theme.
“It’s not his signature. I’ve seen Donald Trump sign a million things,”
said Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.
Rep. Thomas Massie, who is leading a bipartisan push for a House vote to
force the Justice Department to release its Epstein files, downplayed
the letter’s relevance entirely.
“It doesn’t prove anything. Having a birthday card from Trump doesn’t
help the survivors and the victims,” Massie said.
The release of the drawing comes as the president has for months faced
increasing pressure to force more disclosure in the case of Epstein and
his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was accused of paying
underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then
molesting them, while Maxwell was convicted of luring teenage girls to
be sexually abused by him.
It also once again puts a spotlight on Trump’s former friendship with
Epstein, which the president has said ended two decades ago after a
falling-out. Trump said recently that he cut ties with Epstein because
he “stole” young women — including Virginia Giuffre, who was among
Epstein’s most well-known sex trafficking accusers — who worked for the
spa at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
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President Donald Trump speaks to the White House Religious Liberty
Commission during an event at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Sept.
8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The case against Epstein was brought more than a decade after he
secretly cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose
of nearly identical allegations. Trump had suggested during the
presidential campaign that he’d seek to open the government’s files
into Epstein, but much of what the government has released so far
had already been out there.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee received a copy of the
birthday album on Monday as part of a batch of documents from
Epstein’s estate.
Trump has denied writing the letter and creating the drawing,
calling The Wall Street Journal report on it “false, malicious, and
defamatory.”
“These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw
pictures,” Trump said.
The letter released by the committee looks exactly as described by
The Wall Street Journal in its report.
The letter bearing Trump’s name and what appears to be his signature
includes text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a curvaceous woman.
“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be
another wonderful secret,” the letter says.
The letter’s disclosure comes amid a bipartisan push in Congress for
the release of the so-called Epstein files amid years of speculation
and conspiracy theories. Calls for the release of the records came
from Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, before he was
sworn into the country’s No. 2 position.
The Justice Department in August began turning over records from the
Epstein sex trafficking investigation to the House Oversight
Committee.
The committee subpoenaed the Epstein estate for documents last
month. In addition to the birthday book, lawmakers requested
Epstein’s last will and testament, agreements he signed with
prosecutors, his contact books, and his financial transactions and
holdings.
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Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Meg Kinnard
contributed.
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