After House Democrats released a scrapbook gifted to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday, questions have emerged about whether the late child-sex trafficker’s proclivities were an open secret or, at the very least, rumored in the circle of powerful and rich people that surrounded him.
Indeed, the so-called birthday book, which was compiled by Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, contains multiple letters that are laden with sexual innuendo – including one alleged missive from Donald Trump.
A mysterious message, typed on a naked female torso, quotes Donald Trump as stating: “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.” Part of this birthday note implored that “every day be another wonderful secret”.
“Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?” a quote on the drawing attributed to Trump also stated.This alleged birthday note tightly mirrors the Wall Street Journal’s reporting about such a note in July. Trump has filed a $10bn defamation lawsuit over the paper’s report and called it fake.
Also in the book was photo of Epstein standing with an oversized $22,500 cheque bearing “DJ Trump” on the signature line. Below this photo, text states that Epstein demonstrated “early talents with money + women”.
This entry appears to imply that Epstein sold something or someone to Trump. It said this object or person was “fully depreciated”.
Trump, who once did have a social relationship with Epstein, has long denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
Among other sexual notes are a crude cartoon depicting Epstein giving young girls balloons and a lollipop, dated 1983. The same panel features a drawing, dated 2003, with three topless females massaging Epstein. The book also features images of zebras, and lions, engaging in sex.
Trump is listed under the “friends” section of the book’s table of contents, as are former president Bill Clinton and attorney Alan Dershowitz. Jean-Luc Brunel, a former model agency head suspected of supplying young girls to Epstein, was also included in the friends section.
Maxwell introduced Brunel to Epstein in the 1980s. Brunel, who was arrested in 2020 by French authorities on suspicion of rape, was found hanged in prison while awaiting trial. Epstein died in jail pending trial six years ago.
Several familiar with the 1980s and 1990s scene inhabited by moneyed men, such as Epstein, said that mistreatment of women and girls was well-known by some.
Carré Otis, who rose to prominence as a top model in the mid-1980s, said she did not meet Epstein but “definitely knew his name” from a whisper network among her colleagues. “There was a sort of a playbook of who to avoid,” said Otis, who has accused the ex-modeling agency boss Gerald Marie of raping her when she was 17.
Otis, who alleged in a lawsuit that Marie trafficked her to other wealthy men in Europe, said: “There were definitely names that we knew amongst ourselves and shared amongst ourselves, to keep ourselves safe in the face of these predators.” Marie has denied the allegations.
For models and women in the entertainment industry, Otis said, there was “an expectation that you did what the powerful men of that era wanted you to do”.
“It was also so deeply ingrained, certainly for me, having been groomed within that industry, to tolerate so much abuse,” Otis said. “But I know that I wasn’t the only one at that time. So it was more than normal than not for wealthy, powerful men to behave that way.”
Stacey Williams, a former model who briefly dated Epstein in 1993, said he and Trump “were very close friends”. Williams said she met Trump through Epstein.
“There was only one male friend that Jeffrey spoke about, or referenced on a regular basis, or shared that he was spending time with,” Williams said. She further described Epstein’s interactions with Trump as “he had just come from his place. He was going to his place. He was going to see him. That was very common.”
In October 2024, Williams said Trump groped her at Trump Tower three decades prior in what she thought was a “twisted game” between the two men.
“He seemed surprised that I didn’t fight back, that I froze. He didn’t seem surprised that the incident happened,” Williams said of Epstein. “He said over and over again, ‘Why did you let him do that? ‘So the reaction wasn’t, ‘I can’t believe that happened.’”
“It’s confusing to me that Donald Trump ran on releasing the files and that it was so incredibly important to his supporters. And here we are, and nobody has seen them yet,” Williams said. She added: “Epstein survivors are asking for transparency and justice, which would mean making the files public and holding the perpetrators accountable.”
“His survivors and myself are out here, exposing ourselves, putting ourselves in very uncomfortable, embarrassing positions, and the perpetrators that are supposedly in the files get all the secrecy,” she said. “That’s really frustrating.”
The release of this birthday book has only intensified criticism of Trump for his ties to Epstein. Trump’s justice department has failed to release all Epstein documents despite his repeated campaign promise to do so, setting the stage for still more scrutiny.
Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has continued to insist that the the card is a fake, writing on X: “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
Asked for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, said: “The Fake News continues playing into the hands of the Democrat Hoax trying to link President Trump and Epstein.”
“It’s not news that Epstein knew Donald Trump, because Donald Trump kicked Epstein out of his club for being a creep,” Jackson also said. “Democrats and the media knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.”
While Trump has been able to so far weather Epstein-related blowback, others have not. Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US over his friendship with Epstein.
Mandelson called Epstein his “best pal” in a handwritten note that was in the birthday book. He voiced his support for Epstein in 2008 email exchanges, when he was facing jail for soliciting sex from teen girls.
Mandelson told Epstein to “fight for early release”. He also told Epstein that “your friends stay with you and love you”.
