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Agence France-Presse

A lewd birthday letter that Donald Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 - which the US president claimed did not exist - was published on Monday by a congressional panel investigating the late financier’s sex crimes case.
The letter, a typewritten message inserted into the sketched outline of a nude woman, was one of many notes sent by Epstein’s friends that his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, now imprisoned, had compiled into a book for his fiftieth birthday.
The Wall Street Journal had reported on the existence of the book and letter in July, prompting a US$10 billion defamation suit from Trump, 79.
The US House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the book along with other documents from Epstein’s estate, including bank records, as part of its probe launched this summer into the handling of the late sex offender’s case.

Trump’s alleged note consists of a short dialogue between “Donald” and “Jeffrey”.
“We have certain things in common,” says Donald, to which Jeffrey responds: “Yes, we do, come to think of it”.
“Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?” asks Donald.
“As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you,” says Jeffrey.
“A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the note ends, followed by Trump’s signature, which takes the place of pubic hair on the nude outline.
Another letter in the book also mentions Trump, with a photo of Epstein holding an oversized US$22,500 cheque apparently signed by the real estate magnate.

He’s 👏 in 👏 the 👏 files. https://t.co/jQq6z2x6Tq
— Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) September 9, 2025

“Jeffrey showing early talents with money + women! Sells ‘fully depreciated’ [redacted name] to Donald Trump,” reads the note.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the letter from businessman Joel Pashcow referenced a woman who was courted by both Trump and Epstein in the 1990s.
Democrats on the panel published the copy of the Trump letter before the entire book was released, prompting accusations from Republican chairman James Comer of “cherry-picking documents and politicising information”.
The White House reiterated its denial of the authenticity of the letter, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying “it’s very clear President Donald Trump did not draw this picture and he did not sign it”.
“President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation,” she added.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections around the world, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls recruited to provide him with sexual massages.

Trump’s supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and held as an article of faith that “deep state” elites were protecting a sex ring of Epstein associates, particularly in the Democratic Party and Hollywood.
Trump took office in January promising to quickly get to the bottom of the Epstein conspiracies.
But many of his supporters have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said in July that Epstein had committed suicide, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a “client list”.
Trump himself has repeatedly attempted to bury the controversy - dubbing it the “Democrat Epstein hoax” - as attention intensifies on his own long-term friendship with the financier.
Democrats and a handful of Republicans risking Trump’s ire have doubled down, demanding that all legal files related to Epstein be released.
The Republican-controlled Oversight Committee has subpoenaed Justice Department documents as well as testimony from many high-ranking officials, including former president Bill Clinton, whose own letter appears in Epstein’s birthday book.

As part of its response to the controversy, Trump’s Justice Department interviewed Epstein associate Maxwell, who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for recruiting underage girls for the financier.
She was interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer.
The Justice Department later released a transcript and audio recording of the interview, in which Maxwell says Trump was friendly with Epstein but was “never inappropriate with anybody”.
The 63-year-old Maxwell, the only former Epstein associate convicted in connection with his activities, was moved from a prison in Florida to a minimum-security facility in Texas following the interview with Blanche.


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Donald Trump

US Democrats release alleged Trump birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein

A banner of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump hangs in Grand Park, Los Angeles, California in August. Photo: Reuters


The birthday letter. Photo: @OversightDems / X via AP

US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. File photo: SDNY via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

House committee subpoenas Epstein’s estate for documents including will and contacts list

An image of US President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein is projected on to the US Department of Commerce headquarters on July 18. Photo: Getty Images / TNS

US House Oversight Committee releases batch of files in Epstein and Maxwell cases

Theresa Helm (centre), an abuse victim of Jeffery Epstein, walks with a group of women after they spoke behind closed doors with the House Oversight Committee at the US Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

US House Speaker Mike Johnson (centre) arrives for a closed-door meeting with victims in the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Epstein victims compiling own list of sex abusers: ‘We know the names’

Lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, along with victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s abuse, at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: AP

Marina Lacerda (centre) cries while listening to other survivors outside the US Capitol on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Jena-Lisa Jones (centre) hugs Haley Robson (right), as US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks. Photo: AP

Ghislaine Maxwell’s grand jury testimony won’t be released, judge rules

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and US financier Jeffrey Epstein. Photo: US District Court for the Southern District of New York/AFP

A US judge denied a request to unseal grand jury records related to Ghislaine Maxwell’s indictment, stating they do not resolve public questions about her crimes or Epstein’s death. Photo: US District Court for the Southern District of New York/AFP

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Photo: United States Department of Justice/TNS

Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s memoir to be published months after her death

Virginia Giuffre with a photo of herself as a teenager, when she said she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Prince Andrew. Giuffre died by suicide in April. Photo: Miami Herald / TNS

From left, Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and a teenage Ghislaine Maxwell pose for a photo said to have been taken in London in 2001. Photo: Handout / US District Court – Southern District of New York / AFP

A banner of Jeffrey Epstein and US President Donald Trump hangs in Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles, California earlier this month. Photo: Reuters

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White House denies authenticity of sexually suggestive letter which alluded to a ‘wonderful secret’


White House denies authenticity of sexually suggestive letter which alluded to a ‘wonderful secret’.
