By James Oliphant
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday made public a birthday letter Donald Trump allegedly wrote to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago, though the White House quickly denied its authenticity.
The letter, the existence of which was reported by the Wall Street Journal in July, appears to have been signed by Trump, but he has denied doing so and has said the card does not exist.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released the letter after Congress received the 2003 “birthday book” from Epstein’s lawyers, the Journal reported on Monday. The letter is dated three years before allegations of sex abuse by Epstein became public in 2006.
The letter contains text of a purported dialogue between Trump and Epstein in which Trump calls him a “pal” and says, “May every day be another wonderful secret.” The text sits within a crude sketch of the silhouette of a naked woman.
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich denounced the release, saying the signature on the letter is not Trump’s and alluding to Trump’s lawsuit against the Journal’s parent company, News Corp.
“Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION!” Budowich posted on X.
The case of Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, has caused a political headache for Trump after many of his supporters embraced a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein.
Republicans on the House Oversight panel last week released more than 33,000 pages of files related to Epstein in a bid to ward off a bipartisan vote that would have forced further disclosures.
Epstein’s victims and some members of Congress remain unsatisfied. Referring to Trump, House Democrats said on X on Monday, “What is he hiding? Release the files!”
After long suggesting that the files contain damaging information, Trump reversed course after returning to the White House. He has repeatedly labeled the matter a Democrat-led “hoax.”
(Reporting by James Oliphant; editing by Scott Malone and Rod Nickel)
