'Reassuring isn't it, to ... ': Not just Trump, Bill Clinton also among 50 who wrote birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein; WSJ reveals new details
Former US President Bill Clinton was among the many individuals who sent a birthday letter to
Jeffrey Epstein
on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 2003, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Epstein, a convicted sex offender and financier, died in jail in 2019 after being arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges. The birthday messages were part of an album compiled by Epstein's former girlfriend,
Ghislaine Maxwell
.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, Clinton's message appeared alongside nearly 50 others, including notes from well-known celebrities and business figures. "The biggest name in the album" was Bill Clinton, the report said.
The letter from Clinton, as reported by WSJ, read: "It's reassuring isn't it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends.
"
Last week, the Wall Street Journal had reported that American President
Donald Trump
also contributed a letter to the same birthday album. Trump's note was described by the newspaper as "bawdy."
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The letter was written in 2003, when Epstein turned 50, and was included in a professionally bound book assembled by Maxwell.
In response to the reporting, Trump has filed a libel and slander lawsuit against the paper's owner, Rupert Murdoch, two Wall Street Journal reporters, and the newspaper's publisher, Dow Jones.
In Thursday's article, the Wall Street Journal provided further details on the album and named some of the nearly 50 individuals who wrote messages to Epstein.
These reportedly include billionaire investor Leon Black, fashion designer Vera Wang, billionaire media owner Mortimer Zuckerman, billionaire former Victoria's Secret owner Les Wexner, attorney Alan Dershowitz, model scout Jean-Luc Brunel, and billionaire former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold.
The book had several volumes and a table of contents that grouped contributions under various categories such as "Friends," "Science," "Brooklyn," and "Family."
Clinton and Trump were listed in the "Friends" section, according to the newspaper.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that while some of the messages in the book were straightforward birthday wishes, others included crude jokes related to sex. The newspaper reviewed the contents of the album, which had been professionally organized and preserved. Epstein, who had connections with several high-profile individuals across different fields, had received messages from people in politics, business, fashion, and science, the report said.
Thursday's article was published as Donald Trump's administration continues to deal with questions over the handling of the investigation into Epstein's death. Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019. The Department of Justice later concluded that the death was a suicide. The circumstances surrounding Epstein's connections and his death remain the subject of public and legal scrutiny.
Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in August 2019, one month after being arrested on sex trafficking charges.
In 2021, Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted for assisting Epstein in the sex trafficking of teenage girls and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. The US Department of Justice has stated it intends to meet with Maxwell to determine whether she has any information about other individuals who may have been involved in the trafficking network targeting teenage girls and young women.
Maxwell has continued to deny any wrongdoing. She remains the only person to be criminally charged by prosecutors in connection with Epstein's sex trafficking operation, which involved the abuse of more than 200 teenage girls and young women over several years.
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