House Democrats look to get copy of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's 'birthday book'
Reps. Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia of California requested the book in a letter sent to lawyers of Epstein's estate on July 25. Critics, including some prominent Republicans and Democrats, have accused the Justice Department of botching a review of files on the disgraced financier.
The push comes after a Wall Street Journal report that Trump allegedly wrote a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday containing a seemingly hand-drawn outline of a naked woman with a "Donald" squiggly signature mimicking pubic hair. The letter was part of a leather-bound book with dozens of other letters presented to Epstein, the Journal reported.
'The book is relevant for ongoing congressional oversight of the Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein investigation and prosecution, as well as the Trump Administration's decision to declassify and release only a handful of documents from the Epstein files while withholding others from the public,' Khanna and Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, wrote in the letter.
The House Oversight Committee voted on July 23 to subpoena the Justice Department for files related to Epstein amid public clamor for the records.
Khanna and Garcia note that they want an 'unredacted copy' of the book no later than Aug. 10, a day before longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell was subpoenaed by the committee to sit for a deposition at the Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee.
'The American people deserve the truth about who was a part of Epstein's closest circle of friends. Most importantly, the American people deserve to know who was involved in Epstein's trafficking network and if they are in positions of power in our government,' Garcia said in a statement.
Trump has denied the Wall Street Journal report, calling the letter 'FAKE' in a social media post. He sued the news organization on July 18 over the story.
Contributing: Zac Anderson and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY
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