The Department of Justice reviewed a suggestive 2003 letter from President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein as part of its investigation into the convicted sex offender, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The president insisted the story was false, and vowed to sue the newspaper.
The letter, which the president says is “fake,” was part of a book of messages organized by Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein’s 50th birthday, the Journal reported. Maxwell was convicted 16 years later in 2019 for aiding Epstein’s sexual abuse of minors.
The report offers a new detail about Trump’s relationship to Epstein following the announcement by the Justice Department that it would not release background materials from the investigation of the accused sex trafficker — a conclusion that infuriated people who have long hoped for further disclosures about the case.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the letter signed by Trump wishes Epstein a happy birthday and tells him, “may every day be another wonderful secret.” The letter featured lines of typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman, with Trump’s name signed below the woman’s waist.
The president denied to the Journal that he wrote the letter or drew the picture and threatened to sue the newspaper if it published an article about it.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he told the Journal. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
Vice President JD Vance quickly came to the president’s defense shortly after the story was published, calling the story “complete and utter bullshit.”
“Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bullshit. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it,” Vance said in a social media post. “Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?”
Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in a Florida state court in 2008. In 2019, he was arrested on federal charges of sex trafficking minors prior to dying in jail. He died later that year in jail in what authorities concluded was a suicide.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department said it considered the Epstein investigation closed, and refuted theories that he had a “client list” that could have been used to blackmail wealthy associates. The announcement sparked a backlash from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters that the administration has sought scrambling to quell.
It has long been reported that Trump’s name appeared in documents related to the Epstein investigation, though the president has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the case. Trump had spoken positively about Epstein before his first arrest in 2006 but has since downplayed their relationship.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has called on the White House to appoint a special counsel to handle the release of the Epstein files, also called the letter “totally fake.”
“I’m calling bullshit on this Trump “birthday letter” to Epstein. It’s totally fake. Everyone who actually KNOWS President Trump knows he doesn’t type letters,” she said on X.
