Trump and JD Vance Humiliatingly Flub Response to WSJ Epstein Story
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that in 2003, Trump penned Epstein a 'bawdy' note inside of a doodle of a voluptuous woman as part of a book of birthday notes for the financier. The president wrote that he had 'certain things in common' with the child sex offender, and wished his 'pal' that 'everyday may be a wonderful secret.'
Trump and his team leapt to discredit the reporting—but unfortunately, they didn't all jump the same way.
Vance took to X to defend Trump, claiming that the president's team hadn't even laid eyes on the letter before it was published.
'Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bullshit. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it,' Vance wrote. 'Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?'
'Doesn't it violate some rule of journalistic ethics to publish a letter like this without showing it to the victim of this hit piece?' Vance wrote in a separate post. 'Will the people who have bought into every hoax against President Trump show an ounce of skepticism before buying into this bizarre story?'
But Trump went a different route, claiming that he'd personally warned the publication that he'd sue them if they published the 'false, malicious, and defamatory' story.
'The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
So which was it? Was the Trump administration completely blindsided by the publication of the letter, or did Trump get enough advance warning to personally threaten them with a lawsuit if they published it? And why go to such lengths to prevent publication if the letter is so obviously fake?
This latest controversy comes amid a firestorm for the Trump administration, as the MAGA horde have demanded more transparency on the so-called Epstein files, after the Justice Department published a memo claiming that the sex criminal kept no incriminating client list. Trump's attorney general had previously claimed to have that very list sitting on her desk. The mishap has Trump so thoroughly backed into a corner that he's begun claiming that the so-called Epstein files are a hoax created by Democrats, and seething at his supporters for caring about the files at all.
It's worth noting that Vance's complaint that the letter doesn't 'sound' like Trump falls completely flat. After all, the note came just one year after Trump was quoted in a 2002 New York Magazine profile of Epstein, calling him a '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. No doubt about it—Jeffrey enjoys his social life,' Trump said at the time.
Trump's attorney later claimed that the two had 'no relationship.'
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