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)
Trump note to Epstein that he denies writing is released by Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 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.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Donald Trump, which he has denied. (Sept. 8, 2025)
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released a sexually suggestive letter to Jeffrey Epstein purportedly signed by President Donald Trump, which he has denied. (Sept. 8, 2025)
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)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 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 鈥渇riends鈥 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 for earlier reporting on his link to the letter.
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鈥淎s I have said all along, it鈥檚 very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,鈥 White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement posted on X. 鈥淧resident Trump鈥檚 legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.鈥
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich posted various pictures on X of Trump鈥檚 signature over the years and wrote, 鈥渋t鈥檚 not his signature.鈥
As House Republicans left the Capitol on Monday night, many waved off questions about the letter, echoing a similar theme.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not his signature. I鈥檝e seen Donald Trump sign a million things,鈥 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鈥檚 relevance entirely.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 prove anything. Having a birthday card from Trump doesn鈥檛 help the survivors and the victims,鈥 Massie said.
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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 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鈥檚 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 鈥 including , who was among Epstein鈥檚 most well-known sex trafficking accusers 鈥 who worked for the spa at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
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鈥檇 seek to open the government鈥檚 files into Epstein, but much of what the government has released so far had already been out there.
Democrats on the received a copy of the birthday album on Monday as part of a batch of documents from Epstein鈥檚 estate.
Trump has denied writing the letter and creating the drawing, calling The Wall Street Journal report on it 鈥渇alse, malicious, and defamatory.鈥
鈥淭hese are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don鈥檛 draw pictures,鈥 Trump said.
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The letter released by the committee looks exactly as described by The Wall Street Journal in its report.
The letter bearing Trump鈥檚 name and what appears to be his signature includes text framed by a hand-drawn outline of a curvaceous woman.
鈥淎 pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday 鈥 and may every day be another wonderful secret,鈥 the letter says.
The letter鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
