Did Trump draw a birthday note for Jeffrey Epstein? Here’s what we know

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Democrats successful the US House of Representatives person released a birthday letter allegedly written by US President Donald Trump to enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein much than 20 years ago. The White House rapidly denied its authenticity.

The letter, circulated connected Monday and appearing to person been signed by Trump, was first reported by the Wall Street Journal successful July. At the time, Trump denied the beingness of the missive. Now the White House claims the signature is not his.

What documents did the House Oversight Committee release?

The letter, which was turned implicit by lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s property successful effect to a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, was released connected Monday. It was included successful a acceptable of notes sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday, successful 2003.

The leather-bound measurement contained dozens of letters and sexually explicit images, including drawings by erstwhile girlfriends of Epstein receiving massages, arsenic good arsenic photos of zebras and lions having sex.

Contributors see erstwhile US President Bill Clinton, the Harvard Law School prof and onetime Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz, and the present British ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson, among others.

Along with the book, lawmakers besides released a 2007 statement betwixt Epstein and national prosecutors astatine the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and astir 30 years of entries successful his idiosyncratic code book.

That comes aft the merchandise of 33,295 pages of Epstein-related documents connected September 2, mostly provided by the Department of Justice successful effect to a subpoena issued by House Oversight Committee Chairperson James Comer.

But Democratic lawmakers had criticised that release, noting that the caller records were already publically available. On September 3, Anouska De Georgiou, an Epstein-abuse survivor, urged US lawmakers to travel to a bipartisan solution to merchandise each the Epstein files.

Through the Epstein Files Transparency Act, House Democrats are trying to get the authorities to merchandise each unclassified records successful the possession of the Justice Department, including those held by the FBI, US attorneys’ offices and different national agencies.

What has the White House said?

Trump has not commented connected the note’s release. On Monday, the White House denied that the president had produced thing for the day publication and said the signature connected the missive did not lucifer Trump’s.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich denounced the release, denying the veracity of the signature and alluding to Trump’s lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its genitor company, News Corp, which archetypal reported connected the missive connected July 17.

“Time for @newscorp to unfastened that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION!” Budowich posted connected X.

Elsewhere, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said “President Trump’s ineligible squad volition proceed to aggressively prosecute litigation” against the Wall Street Journal.

Trump filed a lawsuit connected July 18 against the paper’s reporters and executives, including News Corp’s proprietor Rupert Murdoch. He is seeking $10bn successful damages.

At the time, Trump denied drafting the fig oregon penning the enactment to Epstein, saying “The expected missive they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE.”

In response, a Dow Jones spokesperson said: “We person afloat assurance successful the rigor and accuracy of our reporting.”

What are Democrats saying?

Epstein’s victims and immoderate Democratic members of Congress stay unsatisfied with the latest slew of papers releases.

Referring to Trump, House Democrats took to their authoritative X relationship connected Monday to note, “What is helium hiding? Release the files!”

Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat connected the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, said Trump had “claimed that his day enactment didn’t beryllium … Now we cognize that Donald Trump was lying and is doing everything helium tin to screen up the truth”.

After agelong suggesting the files contained damaging accusation connected Democrat politicians, Trump reversed people aft returning to the White House successful 2025. He has repeatedly labelled the substance a Democrat-led “hoax”.

What are MAGA figures saying?

For months, the Trump medication has been grappling with an escalating backlash implicit its handling of the Epstein files, aft apical Justice Department officials backtracked connected a committedness to merchandise each of the revealing worldly astir the case.

Indeed, conspiratorial factions wrong Trump’s right-wing basal were angered by the evident reversal, opening a rift wrong the Republican Party, which has been stonewalling the Democrats’ Epstein Files Transparency Act.

After the Wall Street Journal story, however, Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) question has coalesced down the president. On August 25, Jack Posobiec, an alt-right activist, said connected X, “We’re truthful back. The MAGA question is wholly united.”

Meanwhile, Benny Johnson, a salient blimpish podcaster, took to X to cast doubts implicit the validity of the signature of the letter: “Is this truly the champion they could do? Trump has the astir celebrated signature successful the world. Time to writer them into the oblivion.”

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