It was Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s 50th birthday, and Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion. She turned to Epstein\u2019s family and friends. One of them was Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maxwell collected letters from Trump and dozens of Epstein\u2019s other associates for a 2003 birthday album, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pages from the leather-bound album\u2014assembled before Epstein was first arrested in 2006\u2014are among the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein and Maxwell years ago, according to people who have reviewed the pages. It\u2019s unclear if any of the pages are part of the Trump administration\u2019s recent review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president\u2019s past relationship with Epstein is at a sensitive moment. The Justice Department documents, the so-called Epstein files, and who or what is in them are at the center of a storm consuming the Trump administration. On Wednesday, after angry comments about how the files are a hoax created by Democrats, President Trump lashed out at his own supporters for refusing to let the matter go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letter bearing Trump\u2019s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy\u2014like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman\u2019s breasts, and the future president\u2019s signature is a squiggly \u201cDonald\u201d below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The letter concludes: \u201cHappy Birthday \u2014 and may every day be another wonderful secret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with the Journal on Tuesday evening, Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture. \u201cThis is not me. This is a fake thing. It\u2019s a fake Wall Street Journal story,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never wrote a picture in my life. I don\u2019t draw pictures of women,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not my language. It\u2019s not my words.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told the Journal he was preparing to file a lawsuit if it published an article. \u201cI\u2019m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allegations that Epstein had been sexually abusing girls became public in 2006 and he was arrested that year. Epstein died in 2019 in jail after he was arrested a second time and charged with sex trafficking conspiracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justice Department officials didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment or address questions about whether the Trump page and other pages of the birthday album were part of the agency\u2019s recent documents review. The FBI declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The existence of the album and the contents of the birthday letters haven\u2019t previously been reported. The album had poems, photos and greetings from businesspeople, academics, Epstein\u2019s former girlfriends and childhood pals, according to the documents reviewed by the Journal and people familiar with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among those who submitted letters were billionaire Leslie Wexner and attorney Alan Dershowitz. The album also contained a letter from a now-deceased Harvard economist, one of Epstein\u2019s report cards from Mark Twain junior high school in Brooklyn and a note from a former assistant that included an acrostic with Epstein\u2019s name: \u201cJeffrey, oh Jeffrey!\/ Everyone loves you!\/ Fun in the sun!\/ Fun just for fun!\/ Remember\u2026don\u2019t forget me soon!\/ Epstein\u2026you rock!\/ You are the best!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Epstein was Wexner\u2019s money manager at the time. The longtime leader of Victoria\u2019s Secret wrote a short message that said: \u201cI wanted to get you what you want\u2026 so here it is\u2026.\u201d After the text was a line drawing of what appeared to be a woman\u2019s breasts. Wexner declined to comment through a spokesman. Wexner\u2019s spokesman previously told the Journal that the retail mogul \u201csevered all ties with Epstein in 2007 and never spoke with him again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dershowitz\u2019s letter included a mock-up of a \u201cVanity Unfair\u201d magazine cover with mock headlines such as \u201cWho was Jack the Ripper? Was it Jeffrey Epstein?\u201d He joked that he had convinced the magazine to change the focus of an article from Epstein to Bill Clinton. Dershowitz, who represented Epstein after his first arrest, said, \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time and I don\u2019t recall the content of what I may have written.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book was put together by a New York City bookbinder, Herbert Weitz, according to people who were involved in the process. Weitz, who died in 2020, listed Epstein as a client on his website in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It isn\u2019t clear how the letter with Trump\u2019s signature was prepared. Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVoice Over: There must be more to life than having everything,\u201d the note began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won\u2019t tell you what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday \u2014 and may every day be another wonderful secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Jeffrey enjoys his social life\u2019
When he turned 50, Epstein was already wealthy from managing Wexner\u2019s fortune and was socializing with Trump, Clinton and other powerful people. He often entertained at his Manhattan townhouse, Palm Beach, Fla., home and private Caribbean island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesman for Clinton referred to a 2019 statement that former President Clinton had cut off ties more than a decade before Epstein\u2019s second arrest and didn\u2019t know about Epstein\u2019s alleged crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Epstein and Trump spent time together in the 1990s and early 2000s and were photographed at social events, including with Maxwell and Melania Trump. A 1992 tape from the NBC archives shows Trump partying with Epstein at his Mar-a-Lago estate; Trump is seen pulling a woman toward him and patting her behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, along with others including Clinton, also appeared several times on flight logs for Epstein\u2019s private jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2002 New York magazine profile of Epstein quoted Trump. \u201cI\u2019ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,\u201d Trump said. \u201cHe\u2019s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it\u2014Jeffrey enjoys his social life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both men said that they subsequently had a falling-out. Trump has said their friendship ended before Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a minor for prostitution in 2008, served time in a Florida jail and registered as a sex offender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Trump said he hadn\u2019t talked to Epstein for about 15 years. \u201cI knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,\u201d Trump said in the Oval Office at that time. \u201cI was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s spokeswoman told the Journal in 2023 that Trump had banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club at some point in the past, without elaborating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maxwell, a British socialite, was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein\u2019s sex-trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Maxwell didn\u2019t respond to a letter requesting an interview sent to her in prison. Arthur Aidala, an attorney who represented Maxwell, said, \u201cAt this point, she is focused on her case before the Supreme Court of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FBI\u2019s Epstein files
Epstein\u2019s associations with Trump and many powerful people have been well documented. There remain questions about what the FBI possesses about Epstein and his well-connected friends. In 2019, the FBI confiscated evidence from Epstein\u2019s properties in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this week, after the Journal sought comment from the president about the letter, Trump told reporters at the White House that he believed some Epstein files were \u201cmade up\u201d by former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and former FBI Director James Comey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that releasing any more Epstein files would be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi. \u201cWhatever she thinks is credible, she should release,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allegations that bureaucrats covered up Epstein\u2019s connections with participants in his trafficking scheme were fanned by people now in top roles in the Trump administration, including FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June 2024, Trump was asked in a Fox News interview whether he would release the Epstein case files. The Republican presidential candidate initially responded, \u201cYeah, I would.\u201d But he also expressed some reservations. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to affect people\u2019s lives if it\u2019s phony stuff in there, because it\u2019s a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soon after she was confirmed as attorney general, Bondi said she was preparing to release new Epstein files. In late February, Bondi announced the release of \u201cPhase 1\u201d of the documents. But the material contained few new revelations, drawing criticism from right-wing influencers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bondi initially blamed the FBI\u2019s New York office for withholding information and promised to release the remaining documents after redacting the victim\u2019s names. Patel also said, \u201cThere will be no coverups, no missing documents and no stone left unturned.\u201d They tasked hundreds of FBI employees to review the materials and prepare them for release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue took on new life in June when Elon Musk, amid a public feud with Trump, alleged that the FBI was withholding documents from the Epstein case because Trump was in the files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe truth will come out,\u201d Musk wrote on X on June 5. He later deleted the message and said he regretted some of his comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On July 7, the Justice Department backtracked on Bondi\u2019s pledge to release more Epstein files. The Justice Department said that after an \u201cexhaustive review\u201d it had found no \u201cincriminating client list\u201d or additional documents that warrant public disclosure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee demanded this week that Republican Chairman Jim Jordan hold hearings on the Trump administration\u2019s handling of the Epstein files and, if necessary, subpoena Bondi, Patel and Bongino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a cabinet meeting on July 8, Trump criticized a reporter for asking about Epstein. \u201cAre people still talking about this guy, this creep?\u201d Trump said. \u201cThat is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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