US President Donald Trump’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is once again drawing scrutiny following a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that details a bizarre and explicit letter allegedly written by Trump for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003.
The letter, according to the WSJ report published Thursday, was part of a “birthday album” assembled by Epstein’s former partner Ghislaine Maxwell. It featured several typed lines of a fictional dialogue between Trump and Epstein, encased within the hand-drawn outline of a naked woman. The drawing, the report says, included a pair of breasts and bore the “Donald” signature on an intimate part of the illustration.
The text concluded with a suggestive message: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The letter’s content was surreal in tone, written in the third person as an imagined exchange between Trump and Epstein. According to the WSJ, the transcript began with: “There must be more to life than having everything.”
The dialogue that followed read:
Trump: 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.
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.
While Trump has previously acknowledged a long friendship with Epstein, he vehemently denied any connection to the letter or drawing after the WSJ story broke.
“This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story... 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,” Trump said.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he would sue the Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Rupert Murdoch, claiming he and his press secretary Karoline Leavitt had warned the publication against printing the story.
“The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don't even exist,” he wrote.
Others in Epstein’s birthday album
According to the WSJ, the album containing the letter was assembled before Epstein’s first arrest in 2006 and included greetings, poems, and photos from a variety of individuals, including business leaders, academics, former girlfriends, and friends from his youth.
Among the contributors were billionaire Leslie Wexner, the former Victoria’s Secret head, and lawyer Alan Dershowitz, both of whom had longstanding ties to Epstein.
The WSJ report notes that the US Justice Department had previously reviewed this album during its investigation into Epstein and Maxwell, but it’s unclear if this material was part of any recent Trump-era case review.
Trump’s association with Epstein
Trump and Epstein were well-acquainted during the 1990s and early 2000s, frequently appearing together at social events alongside Ghislaine Maxwell and Melania Trump. A 1992 video from NBC archives even shows the two men partying at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private Florida estate.
Trump’s name also appeared several times in the flight logs for Epstein’s private jet — a detail he has downplayed over the years. In a 2002 New York magazine profile, Trump was quoted saying:
“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. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
However, following Epstein’s first arrest in 2006, Trump said the two had a falling out and that they had not spoken for years. After Epstein was arrested again in 2019 and died by suicide while awaiting trial, Trump distanced himself even further:
“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him... I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you,” Trump said from the Oval Office.
In 2023, a Trump spokeswoman told the WSJ that Epstein had been banned from Mar-a-Lago at some point in the past, although no specifics were provided.
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