Wall Street Journal: Birthday letter to Epstein bore Trump's signature, drawing of naked woman
The drawing, depicting a woman's breasts and a 'Donald' signature in the place of pubic hair, surrounded several lines of typewritten text, according to the newspaper, which reviewed the letter. It concluded with the line: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.'
Trump in an interview with the Journal on Tuesday denied that he wrote the letter or drew the picture and threatened to sue the newspaper if it published the story.
'I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women,' he said, according to the Journal. 'It's not my language. It's not my words.'
In response to the story, Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday night that he'd ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi 'to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.' She quickly responded on X that she was ready to do so on Friday, though the process of getting judges to sign off on such a move would likely take considerably longer.
Earlier in the evening, Trump vowed to sue The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, saying that he and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had warned them about publishing the story and that the letter was 'fake.'
'President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. Murdoch, shortly,' the Truth Social post reads.
The Wall Street Journal declined to comment when reached by CNN.
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on social media, calling the story 'complete and utter bullshit' in an X post.
The Wall Street Journal report is likely to further fuel scrutiny of Trump's handling of a Justice Department review of the Epstein case that has roiled his MAGA base and consumed the White House for several days.
On Thursday evening, however, some of the most vocal voices on the right who'd been pushing for more transparency from the administration came to Trump's defense and cast doubt on the Journal story.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, who's called for the administration to appoint a special counsel to look into the handling of 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.'
Another influential MAGA voice, Charlie Kirk, posted on X, 'This is not how Trump talks at all. I don't believe it.' His post referred to the type-written note in the letter that envisions a conversation between Trump and Epstein about there being 'more to life than having everything.'
Epstein, a financier who socialized with a range of politicians and other powerful figures, was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York. He was later found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial. Medical examiners ruled the death a suicide, but the circumstances have since spawned an array of conspiracy theories.
In a memo last week, the Justice Department said Epstein did indeed die by suicide and that there was no Epstein 'client list' and announced it wouldn't release any more documents related to the case, infuriating an influential contingent of Trump supporters who believed the administration would make all of the Epstein files public.
Trump has since angrily dismissed the backlash, accusing his supporters of falling for a 'hoax' by fixating on the case. He urged Republicans to drop the issue altogether.
'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.
Facing growing calls from his supporters and members of Congress, Trump later said Bondi could release any additional 'credible' files on the case, even as he lamented the 'stupid and foolish Republicans' continuing to push the matter.
Leavitt said Thursday that Trump 'would not recommend' that a special prosecutor investigate the Epstein case, despite calls from some of the president's closest allies to do so.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the letter bearing Trump's name was included in a birthday album assembled by Ghislaine Maxwell, a close Epstein associate who was convicted of child sex trafficking in connection with Epstein. She collected the letters from Trump and dozens of others for Epstein's 50th birthday, the Journal reported.
The album was later part of the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein several years ago, according to the newspaper.
Trump was photographed with Epstein — a financier who socialized with a range of politicians and other powerful figures — on multiple occasions throughout the 1990s and early 2000s and was among those who appeared in flight logs for Epstein's private jet.
But the president has said that their friendship ended before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 for procuring a minor for prostitution. He later said they hadn't talked in roughly 15 years when Epstein was arrested again in 2019.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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