A newly released entry from Epstein’s 2003 birthday book, subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee, features a photograph contributed by real estate developer Joel Pashcow. Taken at Mar-a-Lago in the 1990s, it shows Pashcow posing with Epstein, another man and a woman whose face has been redacted. Pashcow holds an oversized cheque with what appears to be a forged “DJ TRUMP” signature. A handwritten caption jokes crudely about Epstein’s “early talents with money + women,” and a “fully depreciated” woman being sold to Trump for $22,500, the New York Times reported.
The woman at the centre
The redacted woman was a European socialite in her twenties who, according to people familiar with the photo, briefly dated both Epstein and Trump during that period. Court transcripts and testimony in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial also reference her, though her exact ties to Epstein remain unclear. Her lawyer said she had known Epstein “in a professional capacity” as a student, severed contact in 1997, and was unaware of the photo or its derogatory caption. The New York Times has chosen not to name her, noting she may have been one of Epstein’s victims.
The White House response
The release reignited partisan fire. Democrats on the oversight committee posted the image online in all caps as “NEW PAGE FROM EPSTEIN’S BIRTHDAY BOOK.” The White House swiftly rejected any suggestion of Trump’s involvement, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating he “absolutely” had not signed the oversized cheque or the earlier lewd drawing attributed to him. Trump’s camp has repeatedly argued that Democrats are weaponizing Epstein’s files to smear the president.
Social circles under the spotlight
The photograph adds to evidence of the social overlap between Trump and Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, when both men were prominent in Palm Beach society. A visual analysis confirmed the photo’s Mar-a-Lago setting shortly after the resort opened as a private club in 1996. Pashcow, who contributed multiple pages to Epstein’s birthday book, appears in Epstein’s contact lists and flew on his private planes around ten times between 1994 and 2001.
The broader context
The entry was part of a 238-page book filled with vulgar cartoons, notes and photos from Epstein’s friends and acquaintances. One adjacent page featured a crude drawing of Epstein surrounded by young girls in 1983 and then receiving a massage from topless women in 2003, captioned “What a great country!” These revelations come as scrutiny intensifies over the Epstein estate and the Trump administration’s handling of Epstein-related files. For critics, the photo underscores both Epstein’s ties to powerful circles and the ways his influence bled into political and social elites.
Why it matters now
The latest disclosures show how Epstein’s orbit remains a live political issue years after his death. For Democrats, the Trump cameo reinforces calls for transparency around the financier’s network. For Trump, the resurfacing of images and signatures linked to Epstein risks further entanglement in a scandal he has tried to distance himself from. With the White House on defence and the US Congress digging deeper into Epstein’s archives, the birthday book has become a potent symbol of lingering questions about money, power and accountability.
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