Reported birthday card from Trump to Epstein shines new light on their friendship as fallout from files release mounts
Donald Trump reportedly helped celebrate Jeffrey Epsteinās 50th birthday with a bawdy greeting accompanied by a hand-drawn image of a naked woman.
A report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday uncovers new details about the relationship between the president and disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, whose death and connections to Trump are at the center of a
A letter bearing Trumpās name, which was reviewed by The Journal, contains several lines of typewritten text framed by a drawing of a naked woman. His signature is a squiggly āDonaldā below her waist, mimicking pubic hair, according to the report.
The letter concludes: āHappy Birthday ā and may every day be another wonderful secret.ā
In an interview with The Journal, Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture: āThis is not me. This is a fake thing. Itās a fake Wall Street Journal story.ā
āI never wrote a picture in my life. I donāt draw pictures of women,ā he told the conservative-leaning newspaper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who has over the years supported Trump.
āItās not my language. Itās not my words,ā Trump told the newspaper.
A typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person, is reportedly included inside the outline of the naked woman.
In the imagined conversation, Trump says āwe have certain things in common, Jeffrey,ā to which Epstein replies, āYes, we do, come to think of it.ā
āEnigmas never age, have you noticed that?ā Trump writes, according to The Journal, which had reportedly reviewed pages from a leather-bound album of birthday cards examined by Department of Justice officials who investigated Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences in 2022.
The explosive revelation follows a disastrous week for the Trump administration as the president repeatedly tries to dismiss the so-called Epstein files as a Democratic āhoax.ā
Thursdayās revelations illustrate a closer than previously reported relationship between the president and Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of minors before he was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.
A Department of Justice memo on July 6 had effectively closed the case, affirming that no such āclient listā exists despite demands from Trumpās supporters and allies for a full accounting of Epsteinās death and alleged ties to a wider child trafficking conspiracy implicating powerful figures.
On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to release FBI files related to Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell on on August 10, 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. But the presidentās promises fell flat.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, on Trumpās directive, also promised to release the files, but after months of delays, the memo from the Justice Department and FBI said agencies would not be releasing any more documents relating to the case.
Bondi had claimed the files were āsitting on her deskā in February. She invited right-wing influencers to the White House for a photo-op at the end of that month, where they held up binders containing āPhase 1ā of the Epstein files, largely made up of already publicly available information about the case.
Bondi continued to stall. In May, she claimed there were ātens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn,ā which fueled further conspiracy theories that powerful people were being protected, and that āPhase 1ā binders were allegedly buying time.
The administrationās failure to release any other details about the investigation has been a major blow for Trumpās supporters ā including those within Trumpās own administration. Deputy FBI director Don Bongino, who last year amplified conspiracy theories that Epstein was murdered, almost walked over the memo, according to reports.
While the White House likely hoped MAGAās fury would blow over quickly, outrage has only intensified. Frustrated, Trump lashed out at his supporters this week and reportedly complained in private that they wonāt āshut the f*** upā about the Epstein files.
Trump has spent several days publicly calling the Epstein case āboringā and ābulls***ā as he questioned the loyalty of gullible āweaklingsā who demanded more from his Justice Department.
āLet these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, donāt even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I donāt want their support anymore!ā Trump said in a Truth Social fury post.
Even the White House has tried to temper the fury. On July 17, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked whether the president would appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the Epstein case.
āThe president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case,ā Leavitt said. āThatās how he feels. And as for his discussions with the attorney general, Iām not sure.ā
Trumpās friendship with Epstein spanned the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and Trumpās phone number ā as well as First Lady Melania Trumpās ā were included in Epsteinās infamous leaked address books. Trumpās name also appeared seven times in passenger logs for Epsteinās planes.
The pair reportedly fell out in 2004, when Epstein and Trump both tried to buy a Palm Beach estate. The next year, the FBI began investigating Epstein for child sex trafficking. He pleaded guilty to a state charge of soliciting sex from a minor in 2008.
Trump distanced himself from his former friend after Epsteinās arrest in 2019, when Trump was president.
āWell, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,ā Trump said on July 9, 2019, one day after Epsteinās arrest. āI mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I donāt think Iāve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasnāt a fan.ā
Asked three days later what contributed to that āfalling out,ā Trump said āthe reason doesnāt make any difference, frankly.ā
One month later, Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.