Democrats in Washington have published a birthday message that Donald Trump allegedly sent Jeffrey Epstein more than 20 years ago, as the US president faces renewed pressure over his links to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.
The release of the note on Monday comes as Trump has struggled to quash a furore over his past relationship with Epstein, which has engulfed his administration in recent months.
“HERE IT IS: We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist,” Democrats on the House oversight committee wrote as they posted an image of what they claimed was Trump’s message on X.
Trump campaigned for the White House in 2024 on a promise to unseal government files related to Epstein, but since taking office his administration has resisted publishing all the documents, raising protests even among some of his closest allies.
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The decision by Democrats on the House oversight committee to publish the birthday note on Monday is expected to amplify calls for the release of more files related to the disgraced financier and increase scrutiny of Trump’s account of his relationship with Epstein.
The president has said he was Epstein’s friend for 15 years, but claimed the two had a falling out more than two decades ago.
The image published on Monday showed the outline of a woman’s figure, a birthday message and what appeared to be Trump’s signature. It was reportedly contained in a tranche of documents obtained by the House panel in response to a subpoena sent by James Comer, the Republican chair of the committee, to Epstein’s estate.
The White House swiftly denied the letter came from Trump, saying the signature did not match the president’s. “It’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, wrote on X.
The Wall Street Journal earlier this year reported on the letter’s existence. At the time, Trump described it as “fake” and “false, malicious and defamatory”. He then sued the Wall Street Journal, its parent company News Corp, its publisher Dow Jones and owner Rupert Murdoch.
Leavitt on Monday said: “President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
The pressure on Trump over his ties to Epstein erupted in July, after a memo published by the justice department and the FBI said there was “no credible evidence” that the disgraced financier had “blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions” and that a “client list” did not exist.
The finding prompted outrage in some corners of Trump’s Maga movement and a bipartisan push for more transparency from the administration.
Republican congressman Thomas Massie and Democratic lawmaker Ro Khanna recently have led the charge to force a vote on the House floor to release the documents.
Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said: “It’s time for the president to tell us the truth about what he knew and release all the Epstein files. The American people are demanding answers.”
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