U.S. President Donald Trump is denying explosive claims from The Wall Street Journal that reported he wrote a provocative birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein, complete with a crude sketch of a naked woman.
The WSJ report, published Thursday evening, claims Ghislaine Maxwell collected letters from Epstein’s friends for a birthday album in 2003, when Epstein turned 50.
Highlights
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wrote a birthday note to Epstein with a naked woman sketch in 2003.
- Trump has denied these claims and threatened to sue WSJ, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch over the story.
- The birthday album also included provocative notes from Alan Dershowitz and billionaire Leslie Wexner.
- Renewed scrutiny has mounted on Trump's past Epstein ties amid demands for transparency on unreleased Epstein files.
Among the contributions, according to the paper, was a letter from Donald Trump.
Donald Trump wrote Jeffrey Epstein a birthday letter that included a sketch of a naked woman, according to the WSJ
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
The album was assembled before Epstein’s 2006 arrest for soliciting a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.
“This is not me. This is a fake thing,” Trump said in an interview Tuesday night with the WSJ.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
According to the WSJ, Trump’s message consisted of several lines written using a typewriter, and around it, the outline of a naked woman. It was hand-drawn with a heavy marker.
The drawing consisted of a pair of arcs depicting a woman’s breasts, and he signed it with a squiggle, “Donald,” below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The letter concluded, “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump furiously denied the story and said, “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”
“I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third-rate newspaper,” he added.
He has since promised to sue The Wall Street Journal, its parent company News Corp, and its owner, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, 94.
Trump had already threatened the WSJ when an interviewer asked him about the letter on Tuesday evening, saying he was preparing to file a lawsuit if the article was published.
“I’m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal just like I sued everyone else,” he said.
The WSJ said it reviewed the letter, but did not publish an image of it.
The paper also reported that several other contributors submitted racy notes for Epstein’s birthday album, including lawyer Alan Dershowitz and billionaire Leslie Wexner.
Trump has denied the claims and threatened to sue the WSJ, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch
Image credits: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
The album also contained a letter from a now-deceased Harvard economist, one of Epstein’s report cards from Mark Twain Junior High School in Brooklyn, and a note from a former assistant.
Dershowitz reportedly included a mock magazine cover called “Vanity Unfair” and joked about shifting media attention from Epstein to Bill Clinton.
Wexner, the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret, also drew a woman’s breasts. Along with it, he wrote, “I wanted to get you what you want… so here it is…”
Wexner and Epstein had a close financial relationship that started in the late 1980s, which led to Epstein being Wexner’s investment manager and even obtaining power of attorney over his affairs. Their relationship ended in 2007 as allegations of Epstein’s sexual misconduct started emerging.
In the aftermath, Wexner claimed Epstein stole tens of millions of dollars from him.
Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday night that he had ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi “to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”
Bondi responded, saying she was ready to do so on Friday.
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on social media, calling the story “complete and utter bull***t” in an X post.
Trump’s past relationship with Epstein has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks, as political pressure mounts over the unreleased ‘Epstein files’ held by the Department of Justice.
Trump and Epstein were close friends in the 1990s and early 2000s. Photographs from that time show the two men together at Mar-a-Lago events, sometimes with Melania Trump and Epstein’s partner and convicted felon Ghislaine Maxwell.
A 1992 NBC video shows Trump at Mar-a-Lago, laughing and dancing with Epstein, and patting a woman on her backside.
The Trump administration has been lambasted over the handling of the ‘Epstein files’
In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s 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.”
Since 2004, their friendship seems to have ended. He claimed in 2019 that he hadn’t spoken to Epstein in 15 years.
“I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you,” Trump said from the Oval Office that year.
A former Trump Casino executive claims Donald Trump once brought Jeffrey Epstein and a 19-year-old woman onto the gaming floor at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, a violation of state gambling laws.
Jack O’Donnell, who served as president of the casino from 1987 to 1991, told CNN that Trump and Epstein frequently visited the resort together.
“In my mind, Epstein was his best friend,” O’Donnell said.
Image credits: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images
Trump has denied close ties to Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges.
The note described by the WSJ includes an imaginary dialogue between Trump and Epstein.
The note reportedly began: “Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything.”
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.
Trump and Epstein had a long friendship until the early 2000s
Image credits: CNBC
The letter’s authenticity is at the center of controversy. Still, it has fueled increased scrutiny of Trump and demands for transparency on the Epstein files from his MAGA supporters and even House Democrats.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who called for Bondi’s resignation over covering up the Epstein files, called the letter “totally fake.”
She wrote on X: “Everyone who actually KNOWS President Trump knows he doesn’t type letters. He writes notes in big black Sharpie.”
At a cabinet meeting earlier this month, Trump snapped at a reporter asking about the Epstein files.
“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years,” he said.
Trump accused Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and James Comey of planting false material in the Epstein case files.
The situation has also reignited concerns about how media companies respond to Trump’s legal pressure.
Earlier this month, Paramount Global quietly paid Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over an edited 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris that Trump claimed tipped “the scales in favor of the Democratic Party.”
The move sparked outrage from The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who accused the company of capitulating to “fealty.”
He warned that political influence, particularly from incoming Paramount owner David Ellison, a known Trump associate, could further chill press freedom.
“They may sell the whole f*****g place for parts, I just don’t know,” Stewart said.